


Jack Frost and the Shadows of Van der Bor

by emanime5



Category: Brave (2012), Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, How to Train Your Dragon (Movies), Rise of The Brave Tangled Dragons - Fandom, Rise of the Guardians (2012), Tangled (2010)
Genre: Action & Romance, Alternate Universe - Harry Potter Setting, Don't worry, F/M, Friendship, Harry Potter AU, I promise, Jarida - Freeform, Kissing, Lots of friend stuff, Magic, Maybe - Freeform, Monsters, Quidditch, Romance, This is a good time, happy boys, plenty of kissing, you'll laugh
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-02
Updated: 2019-06-10
Packaged: 2020-04-06 10:33:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 74,981
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19060873
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/emanime5/pseuds/emanime5
Summary: Harry Potter AU.The more Merida thought about Jack running away from her, the more it pissed her off. So, the more she tried to chase him down in order to force some sort of truth out of him. And the more she chased him, the more elusive he got.Perhaps she would have been better off not knowing why he looked like he was fading away, why there were shadows in the forest, why all of Hogwarts was on the brink of destruction by an unnatural storm. But she was already barreling after him, and Merida didn't take "no" for an answer.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> What you wanted. Probably.
> 
> Don't own.

"No, no, no, no, no," Merida whispered desperately to herself, squeezing her eyes closed. "Already? It's first thing in the gamy morning! Please don't do this to me!"

  
She looked up at the ceiling, hopelessly pleading with whatever powers-that-be that could hear her. The only response was from a painting of a Victorian lady across from her, who looked at her strangely and held a handkerchief to her nose. As if she could smell her. Rude. Merida glared at the painted woman from her position crouched on the floor. Thankfully, the hall was mostly empty—nearly everyone was already in the Great Hall, enjoying breakfast on their first day back at school—which meant Merida was mostly safe from passersby. Good thing, because she probably looked a fright. She had woken up far too late, dorm empty, and she had flung her uniform on before stumbling through her vacant common room and rushing down to the Great Hall. She was still used to sleeping in on warm summery mornings, only rolling out of bed when her mothered yelled up the stairs for her to get up. It would take her a few weeks to get back to the schedule of barely making it in time to breakfast before classes started.

  
She had hoped to sneak into the Great Hall unnoticed. Everyone would still be buzzing with the energy that accompanied the beginning of a new school year, saying hello to friends they hadn't seen in a while, stuffing their faces with the delicious foods that overflowed on the table tops. No one would even notice Merida walking by, still trying to tuck her shirt into her skirt, her unruly red hair curling in every direction and making her look like a manic lion.  
She hadn’t anticipated running into Hiccup outside of the gaping doors of the Great Hall. She opened her eyes and peeked around the corner again, wondering if he was still there.

  
Yep. He was. Crivens, this was just her luck. He was chatting with Rapunzel as if they had all the time in the world.

  
Merida’s best friend, Rapunzel, looked beautiful, as always. She'd probably gotten up on time, unlike Merida. Not that Rapunzel needed to do much, what with her perfect sun kissed skin and perfect dainty features and perfect wide green eyes that Merida could see shining, even from twenty feet away. Rapunzel's long, slick golden hair was effortlessly braided, with little indigo flowers that matched her house color, and fell down her back to bump against her waist. She laughed cutely, her shoulders up around her ears, at something Hiccup had said.

  
And there was Hiccup, rubbing the back of his neck and smiling sheepishly, like he didn't realize how funny he was. Like he didn't realize how cute he was.

  
Merida wanted to smack him. And hug him. And kick him in the shins and sit and talk to him for an hour. A familiar ache in her chest throbbed as she watched his back. His shoulders had gotten wide. His hair was thick and longer than it used to be. He wasn't the skinny, goofy kid she had grown up with. Not that it made a difference. He’d always made her heart skip.

  
Merida inhaled deeply, then straightened the long black robe that draped over her uniform. She hated the constricting robe, but for the first week of school everyone still had to wear their full uniforms. Hers was wrinkled, like most of her clothes since she had just shoved them into her trunk the day before her parents had sent her off to the train station. Oh well. Nothing to do about it now. She'd march up to her friends in all her glory, wrinkled clothes and lion hair, proud and confident. She’d smack Hiccup on the shoulder like she had done in greeting their entire lives.

  
She cracked her neck twice, pounded her fist against the stone wall, ignored the condescending look of the Victorian lady in the painting, and swung around the corner.

  
And froze.

Hiccup and Rapunzel had been joined by a third person. Merida felt as though she had been punched in the gut as Astrid easily fell into the conversation.

Astrid was nearly as tall as Hiccup, with dirty blonde hair knotted over one shoulder. She was slender in an athletic way, and there was no makeup on her refreshingly pretty face. She smiled brightly as she greeted Rapunzel, her long black robe lined with yellow that matched Hiccup's, her hand holding his lightly.  
Inside her head, Merida was yelling at herself, using a colorful string of Scottish swears that would have made the painted Victorian lady scoff disapprovingly.

Merida was supposed to be used to this. She'd watched Hiccup and Astrid become friends, watched how Hiccup's face had changed over the years when he looked at her, watched them laugh and fight and work together. Astrid was special to him. Merida was only a childhood friend. She knew her role. But it didn't change the sting of pain she felt when she saw how cute they were together, or the uncomfortableness she sometimes had when she had to talk to them by herself. Normally, Merida brushed off her feelings and tried to interact with them as she would anyone else, but every once in a while, Merida was caught off guard, and her heart would take over momentarily.

This was one of those moments.

She stood frozen in place, watching for the thousandth time as the boy she had fallen for years ago smiled at the girl he loved that wasn’t her. The mixture of rejection and resignation sat in her stomach like a bad bout of potion.

She should move. She should walk up to them and greet them like nothing was weird. She hadn't seen them all summer, after all. In fact, this was the first time she hadn't seen Hiccup all summer since she had been four years old. She had decided that it was time she begin distancing herself. She had to let Hiccup go. Yet she couldn't make herself move forward. She'd probably hide instead. She'd spend the rest of breakfast with the Victorian lady and her stupid handkerchief, and then she'd make her way to her first class, her life burning away in humiliation inside of her.

Then everything went black.

Merida blinked a few times before she realized that her robe had flown over her head from the back, leaving her in the dark.

"What the…?" she muttered.

A familiar laugh sounded a few feet from her. All her heartache and fear vanished at the sound, and she grit her teeth together, struggling her way out of her dark robe and mess of hair. Whirling around, hair in her face, she spotted the culprit.

The tall Slytherin boy was still laughing. His wand was in his hand, the offending weapon that had no doubt caused her robe to float over her head. His shock of white hair stuck up in several directions, only adding to the impish look of his sharp features and strong jaw. She had heard him described by other girls as "devilishly handsome", but she’d known him too well for too long. He was really just more devilish than he was handsome. His smug smile was turned toward her, his blue eyes laughing even in the face of her most murderous scowl.

"Frost!" she growled. "I'll snap that wand of yours right in half, I swear it!"

"Oh, you will?" He said, hands on his hips. Completely unafraid, he crossed the space between them to look down at her. "You know, Dunbroch, you've been throwing that threat around since first year. I've yet to see you follow through."

Merida put her hands on her hips as well and lifted her chin to him defiantly. "Well, I didn't want to embarrass you in front of your mates when you started crying, Frost, but keep pushing me and I might do it anyway."

"Oh, really?"

"Aye, really."

"Ahye, rehlee," he repeated, mimicking her accent with a grin. "You know, I'm always surprised by how much I miss your calming presence. There's just something about that melodic, angry Scottish accent that lulls one into a peaceful trance, you know?"

"Is that so? Gosh, Frost, if I'd known you felt that way I would have sent you a few nice howlers over the summer,” she said.

"That would have been lovely. Keep that in mind for next year. Speaking of, did you get my letter on your birthday?" he asked.

"You mean the letter that turned into a wee troll and ran around my house stealing all the sweets it could find until my younger brothers managed to trap it and feed it to the cat? That letter?"

He snapped his fingers. "That's the one!"

"Nope. Didn't get it."

"Shame." His grin widened and her lips twitched. She didn't mention that she had laughed hysterically when the troll had swung from the chandelier and landed in her birthday cake, splattering blue frosting all over the faces of her mother and father, or that she had encouraged it running away as her triplet brothers dove after it with a broom. She didn't tell him that she really wanted to know how to do magic like that. She looked away to keep from smiling and her eyes landed on the shiny pin stuck to his gray sweater.

"What the bloody hell is that?" she asked.

"Oh, you're using English swears now? Are you sure you're really Scottish?"

She ignored him, grabbing the front of his robes to yank him closer. He let her pull him, chuckling as she gaped at the silver lettering on the pin— _Prefect_.

"WHAT THE BLOODY HELL IS THAT?" she shouted, her voice echoing off the stone walls. She was vaguely aware of the Victorian lady shaking her head with a frown.

"That's right, Dunbroch," he said, "I made Prefect this year."

"You? A Prefect?" She let go of his robe, looking up at him in disbelief. His clothes were nicer than usual—they looked pressed and clean, and his tie was tied perfectly. She shook her head. "No, no, no, this must be a mistake. Where'd you get that tatty pin? Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes? Is it some sort of new prank? What are you up to?"

"I'm not up to anything. I'm a Prefect," he repeated, amused.

"Right, and I'm the Minister of Magic. You know Professor Tallen won't let you get away with that for even a day, right? He'll hide you, first."

Merida paused when she heard Hiccup’s voice, "Hey, Jack! Merida!"

She turned with a little jump of her pulse and saw that Hiccup and the others were looking in her direction. Behind him, the chatter from the Great Hall was beginning to enter the hallway as students began meandering out of the room, heading to their morning classes with books under their arms. First years wandered by, looking up at the waving portraits in awe and down at their schedules in confusion.

"What are you two doing?" Hiccup asked. "Getting into trouble already?"

"I'm certainly not," Jack said, heading toward them. Merida hesitated before following after him. "I can't speak for this wee lassie Gryffindor, though,” Jack continued. “She seems to be loitering, and I may need to report her." Jack suddenly turned around, addressing Merida, "And why's that?" He dropped his voice to a whisper, " _Because I'm a Prefect_."

She rolled her eyes. "The day I have detention and you're not sitting next to me, Frost, I'll eat my tie."

"Ooh, I'll hold you to that, Dunbroch! Watch yourself!"

She gave him a pouty glare that turned into a smile before she could stop it. He looked satisfied at getting her to break out in a smile finally, and turned back around just in time to throw an arm around Hiccup's shoulder.

Jack seemed to make it his personal goal in life to annoy her, and she made it a personal goal to make sure his egotistical head didn't get too big, but she was rarely actually mad at him. They always made each other laugh before a real fight could go down. Besides, right this second she was glad he had shown up when he had—he had made a way for her to join her friends without making a total fool of herself pining over Hiccup. She wouldn't tell Jack that, though. He'd hold it over her head like he was some sort of savior, and she didn't really want him to know about her feelings for Hiccup. He'd probably laugh at her until he turned blue.

"Friends!" Jack said, gesturing to the walls around them. "Welcome back for your sixth year at Hogwarts!"

"Why, thank you, Sir Slytherin Prefect," Hiccup replied dryly. "What an honor it is." He turned to share a smile and roll of the eyes with Merida. Merida tried not to be obvious when she tucked a stray curl behind her ear sheepishly. It immediately sprung back to where it had been.

Jack patted Hiccup's cheek and said, "You are welcome, little Hufflepuff." Hiccup waved him off with a grin.

"I hardly saw you at all last night," Rapunzel said. "I wanted to see you in Prefect action."

"What?" Merida turned to Rapunzel incredulously. "Is this loon seriously a Prefect?"

"Well, sure," Rapunzel said.

"What slackery hogwash." Merida narrowed her eyes and looked Jack up and down. "Are we sure this is the real Jack?"

Jack snorted and slid his wand into his sleeve, where it vanished. "Yeah, it was a bit crazy after the sorting ceremony and everything. I nearly lost two first years on the moving stairs on the way to our common rooms. Were we that stupid when we were first years?" he asked Hiccup.

"Stupider, probably," Hiccup admitted.

"Definitely," Astrid said, crossing her arms with a smile. "The first time I saw you two, you were hightailing it away from the lake because you'd upset the merfolk by turning all the seaweed neon pink and flashing. You could see the lake glowing from every window in Hogwarts."

"That was all Jack's idea," Hiccup immediately said.

"My idea?" Jack put a hand to his chest.

"Yes, it was," Merida jumped in. "Yet I was the one who was left on the shore, completely soaked and being yelled at in merfolk-ish."

"It's those cute little legs of yours. You can't keep up. Do they work like normal humans?" Jack said, leaning back to look at her bare legs under her knee-length skirt.

"Cute little—!" She punched his shoulder, and he laughed. "I can outrun you any day, any time, Frost. 'Sides, I was taller than you in our first year!"

"To be fair, Mer," Hiccup interjected before the two could start another squabble, "You were the one leaning over the water to see if you could catch one of them."

Merida scoffed, turning her glare on Hiccup and poking him in the chest. "You were the one who dragged me out to the lake in the first place, Mr. Must-Meet-Every-Magical-Creature-Even-If-It-Kills-Me!"

"Ah ha, well." Hiccup pulled her hand away with a sheepish smile, and she felt her glare relax automatically. "I did drag you around a lot in my monster hunting, huh? Sorry, Mer."

"Don't apologize, Hiccup," Rapunzel waved him away. "Because if you weren't like that, then Merida never would have asked for my help in catching those stray ragglesnorts for you in the flowerbeds that spring, and we wouldn't have become best friends." She put an arm around Merida, giving her a little squeeze and

Merida returned her cheerful smile.

"The ragglesnort infestation? You could catch those? Not even Hagrid could catch those!" Astrid said in surprise.

Merida said dryly, "I told you, Punz can literally do anything. She had them eating out of the palm of her hand, literally."

"They liked my homemade gingersnaps." Rapunzel gave a little shrug.

Astrid continued, "That's amazing! They were impossible! They were crawling all over the Hufflepuff dorms, and no one could catch them, not even Hiccup, with all his bizarre, homemade traps. I kept accidentally setting the traps off, it was driving me crazy!"

Hiccup chuckled. "Ah, yeah, sorry. I almost thought you kept setting them off on purpose because you didn't like me."

"Ha, I didn't like you. I thought you were purposely putting them in places where I would run into them."

"You like me now, though, right?" Hiccup asked.

Astrid gave him a sly smile, bumping his shoulder with her own. Hiccup grinned. Rapunzel shot a worried glance at Merida, and Merida looked away.

"So, Punzie," Jack suddenly said to Rapunzel, "Did you get my letters this summer? Merida didn't seem to." He gave Merida a knowing smile, which she responded to by sticking out her tongue.

"Hmm? Ah, yeah. Sorry I couldn't respond to them all. You know how my mom is." Rapunzel smiled, but it was more of a wince.

"No worries, Punzie," he said, "I was just bored, especially with Hiccup off at camp dragonland and Merida playing wild child up in Scotland."

Merida elbowed him, which he reacted to overly-dramatically.

"Camp Draconia Langortica," Hiccup corrected. "And I'll have you know, that since I was working there this year I got to see all the magical creatures that came through, and there were six Hungarian Horntails. Six." Hiccup's eyes lit up and his gestures became bigger. "All owned by the same crazy warlock from Scandinavia. Can you believe that? He just waltzed into the bazaar with six Hungarian Horntails. It was incredible! Right, Astrid?"

"It was quite amazing, yes," Astrid agreed, watching Hiccup with a fond expression that Merida was sure was on her own face.

"It was! Like, wow, what is his life, and how do I live it. And he let me watch the feeding, it was incredibly bloody, my dad was freaking out that I was there, ah, but then Merida's dad showed up, and he talked the guy into letting us go with him to the appraisal, and whoa was that so cool, or what, seriously, Mer, your dad is my favorite. You really missed out this year, Mer, you would have loved it."

Merida shrugged, trying not to let her heart beat painfully at the thought that Hiccup might have missed her. "Ah, yeah, I was…busy." She certainly hadn't turned down her father's invite to go with him to the bazaar for the first time in her life in order to avoid Hiccup and Astrid. Certainly not.

"Really a bummer, Mer, it was incredible," Hiccup said, then immediately launched into, "There was this other group of gypsies, these strange little witches, and they had dragon eggs for sale, and I dunno if they were real or not but—"

"Ok, ok," Astrid said, laying a hand over Hiccup's mouth. "If you let him keep going he won't ever stop."

"Glad you had a good time with the dragons in Romania while I was freezing my butt off logging in the Arctic with my uncle," Jack said sarcastically.

"It must have been a rough summer," Rapunzel said sympathetically. "You're even paler than usual. Did you get a snow-tan?"

Jack looked down at his hands and everyone turned to him. Merida, who was the closest, squinted. Jack was already a pale boy, about as pale as she was beneath all her freckles, but after looking again Merida thought that Rapunzel might be right. He did look paler.

"Aye, you're right," Merida said. "Trying a new look, Jack? Prefect isn't good enough for you, you want to apply for House ghost?" She reached out to poke his hand, only to be surprised when he quickly withdrew. He slid his hands into his pockets, and she looked up to see him smiling down at her. But it was…strained. Strained? Merida had never seen such a smile on Jack.

His smile widened to look more normal when he faced the group.

"It was a long summer, let's just say that," he said.

"Jack!" A voice called out. Jack turned and looked for the source and everyone followed his gaze.

At the top of the stairs was a beautiful girl with blonde hair nearly as white as Jack's, pulled into a tight bun, and almond shaped eyes in a heart shaped face. The deep emerald green lining of her robe framed her curves, even inside of the thick gray vest and shapeless skirt that everyone wore. Despite the heat, she wore a pair of skin tight gloves that Merida had never seen her without.

"And so, the lovely lady calls," Hiccup said with a smirk at his friend.

"Prefect partner, actually. Until later mates." Jack returned the smile and stepped back from the group into the thickening crowd of students. They watched him bound up the stairs to join Elsa Arendell, who greeted him with a small smile before they turned and walked side by side down the hall.

"Well," Astrid said, "I guess we should follow the example of the Prefect and head off to class."

"This year I have double Care of Magical Creatures," Hiccup happily informed Rapunzel and Merida. "Finally, all that lobbying that me and Hagrid did to the headmistress the last couple years has paid off, and Professor McGonagall said I could do it."

"That's great," Merida said enthusiastically. "Finally get to live your dream of dropping Potions and Charms and just taking care of potentially homicidal animals all day long."

"Ah, not quite," Hiccup's smile quickly turned into a grimace.

"Professor McGonagall said he has to take Potions and Charms at night," Astrid said in amusement. "He gets double Care of Magical Creatures in exchange for his free Friday and Saturday nights."

"Crivens," Merida said with a disgusted and sympathetic look.

"I think I'm going to die, Mer, honestly," Hiccup told her. "When this mental girl is trying to kill me with Potions and Charms homework, it's up to you to come save me, ok?"

"You got it," Merida said, looking up at his brown eyes that were fixed only on hers for a moment. Then Astrid shook her head with a laugh and Hiccup turned to her.

"Come on, beast boy," Astrid said, taking Hiccup's arm and pulling him into the flow of students. "We'll see you two later! Merida, you better be on your game this year! I'm not going easy on you just because we're pals. We're grounding you like last time!"

"What jiggery pokery, you scaffy witch! Last year was your lucky year! We'll knock you right off your brooms this time round!" Merida shouted to her as they disappeared into the crowd.

"I look forward to seeing you try!" Astrid said, pumping a fist in the air and chanting loudly without any concern about the people around her, "Hufflepuff! Hufflepuff! Hufflepuff!"

The same grin plastered on her face, Merida said to Rapunzel, "I hate my life."

Rapunzel's shoulders slumped and she rolled her eyes exasperatedly. "Oh, Merida."

"What?" Merida dropped the grin and pushed her way against the crowd to enter the Great Hall.

Rapunzel followed close behind. "I thought you said you were doing better. Weren't you doing better?"

"I am doing better, but that doesn't mean that I don't want to punch myself in the face every time I feel my gamy heart beating around over his stupid freckles."

"Your freckles are cuter."

"The freckles aren't the point, Punz!" Merida passed the ghost of the Fat Friar, who greeted her cheerfully and warned them that class was starting in five minutes. She stopped in front of the Gryffindor table but the platters of breakfast foods had already disappeared. Merida groaned.

"Come on," Rapunzel pulled her around the room to the empty Ravenclaw table, where she taped her wand against the table top in a funny rhythm. A few platters popped into existence with breakfast foods. "There you go. It's a little charm that's been there for years."

"Pfft, Ravenclaws," Merida said, snatching a couple muffins and an apple.

The two girls turned and hurried out of the Great Hall. They found the crowds again, walking among them as Merida shoved the muffins into her mouth. Around them, students greeted paintings like old friends, called out to each other and asked about their summers, and laughed at the suits of armor, who saluted each girl that passed and scolded the boys.

Merida wiped her mouth on the back of her hand. "I'm doing better, I just…wish I was already over all of it. I just want to go back to being his friend like I was before, and I want to be mates with Astrid without having this little annoying pain of rejection in the back of my mind every time I see how beautiful and perfect she is. Of course he'd pick her over me, I shouldn't be so butthurt about it, it's been years. Ow!" She rounded on Rapunzel, who had just smacked her upside the head with her Charms textbook. "What the hell?"

"Don't you 'what the hell' me, you know how many times I've told you not to talk like that. People fall in love, it just happens, it has nothing to do with you being good enough or not good enough."

"I know, I know, sorry, crivens. Let's talk about not me. Let's talk about you and your lover boy. You didn't talk about him in any of your letters, which I assume was because you were worried your mum would see it. Did you see him this summer? Eugene Fitzwhatsit?"

Rapunzel's face flushed, and Merida smirked, glad that she was finally able to turn the tables on her friend. For years it had been Rapunzel teasing Merida about Hiccup, but finally, the summer before fifth year, Rapunzel had met someone.

"I, it's, it wasn't anything," Rapunzel said, ignoring Merida's snickering. "We might have met once or twice when I snuck some sleeping potion into my mum's tea. Innocent stuff, of course, don't you look at me like that! We just talked mostly, about his life and our dreams. He held my hand." Rapunzel sighed, her face lighting up as her eyes lost focus, losing herself in memory.

Merida chuckled. "Aye, sure, it wasn't anything. Just you mooning after the boy with, and I quote, 'the most beautiful eyes in the universe'."

Rapunzel smacked Merida's arm. "Oh, stop!"

"Never. Girls in love like to be teased about being in love. Your words, not mine."

"I was thirteen when I said that! I take it back."

"Too late. Consider it payback. I'll be teasing you about beautiful Eugene and his universe eyes up until you get married and have kids and probably even longer than that."

"Oh, stop," Rapunzel said again, but her tone was suddenly sad. "That's not going to happen. He's a muggle, you know."

"So? You're muggle born, and Hiccup's a halfblood, and I'm Scottish, which more than one Slytherin pratt doesn't like. Who cares?"

"My pureblood foster mother," Rapunzel answered quietly.

Merida snapped her mouth shut. She didn't need to launch into a spiel of how much she hated Rapunzel's foster mother so early in the morning. She'd have plenty of time to do that later.

They walked another hall in silence, only listening to the happy noises of Hogwarts around them. Rapunzel perked up after a couple minutes, which Merida expected. The girl could never stay down for long, and always sprung back to her sunny self. She greeted friends down the hallways and chatted to Merida about the new riddle to the Ravenclaw common rooms, which she wasn't exactly allowed to do. Merida crunched into her apple and listened, glancing longingly out the windows at the warm day and wishing she could be riding her horse Angus in the sun rather than heading to a lecture on wand movement and meditation.

The halls were quickly emptying and the girls picked up their pace. Rapunzel parted with an admonition that Merida actually try paying attention in classes this year. Merida groaned, turning down a side hall as a shortcut. In the empty hall, the only sound was her echoing footsteps and the crispy crunch of her apple. She paused mid chew when she noticed someone at the end of the hall. Jack was leaning against the wall, looking like he didn't care that he was about to be late for his first class of the year.

She snorted. Some Prefect he was. She chewed quicker, swallowing fast so she could call out to him and rib him for it.

Her words died in her throat.

He didn't look normal. One hand gripped a fistful of sweater at his stomach. Jack had always lanky and tall, and although he’d grown in recent years he was still mostly bone, and the muscles and tendons stuck out on his forearm and hand. He must have been clutching that sweater for dear life. He was staring at the ground in front of him, his expression hard and stoney, his breathing uneven.

With a frown, Merida wondered what was wrong. She continued forward a little quicker, her steps startling him when he heard them. He looked up at her with wide eyes, then quickly pushed off the wall and smoothed out his sweater.

"You alright, there, Jack?" Merida asked, stopping beside him. "You feeling sick?"

He scratched his eyebrow, not looking her in the eye. "I'm fine. You're late for class, you know."

"Well, if you think that bothers me, then being a Prefect must have messed with your head already." She cocked her head. His breathing was normal now, and the stoney expression was gone, but his usual cocky smirk was nowhere to be found. "Has it…messed with your head already? The pressure getting to you? Is working with your girlfriend hard?"

He let out a breathy chuckle. "No. I'm fine."

"Alright, if you're sure. Well, if you need any stress relieved, you know where to find me. I still owe you a butt-whooping from our last broom race around Hogwarts, you rake." She raised a fist to clock him lightly on the shoulder, but before she made contact his hand shot out and grabbed hers, stopping it in midair.

He looked just as surprised by the action as she was. He let go of her and turned around, heading toward the stairs.

"You should head to class, Merida," he said without looking back. And then he was gone.

She blinked after him, wondering what on earth that had been about. In all her years of knowing Jack, she had never seen him like that. Once he’d had the flu, but he'd joked about spewing into Professor Tallen's slippers and laughed it off. What could possibly be causing the roguish boy to be like this?

It had been a long time since Jack had touched her like that. Not since they were kids. Not since before Elsa. She looked down at her hand. Her skin was a bit cold.

She nearly jumped out of her socks when a painting of a medieval wizard said kindly to her, "You should run along, now, miss. Class started five minutes ago."

* * *

She didn't see Jack the rest of the week. Well, she spotted him once or twice across the Great Hall, standing beside Elsa or making first years laugh by doing little tricks with his wand. But she never got close enough to talk to him. She supposed that was to be expected. He was busy being important now.

The traitor. He used to be a trouble making slacker, just like her. They had joked about the detention room being their second home. They usually got caught causing mischief by Professor Longbottom, head of Gryffindor House, who would shake his head and laugh at them before giving them a few days sitting in detention. The worst was when they got caught by Professor Tallen, head of Slytherin House. Long hours in the cold dungeon writing over and over that they would never do it again still gave Merida nightmares.

Ever since the beginning of their fifth year, when Jack had begun spending more time with Elsa, he had spent less time with the rest of their friends. It was understandable, they had all said. That's what happens when you get a girlfriend, Hiccup had added with a smile at Astrid. Good riddance, Merida had lied. Jack had still popped around now and then to laugh with them, but as a Prefect now, who knew if he'd have the time anymore.

When Merida did see Jack, she saw him smiling his usual smile. Good. She hoped he wasn't sick anymore, or that he had resolved whatever had been bothering him a few days before. She shrugged and let it go.

Classes were the same as usual for Merida. She had never been very good at Charms or Defense Against the Dark Arts—she didn't have the finesse for delicate magic spells like those. History, Astronomy, and Herbology were ok but not her favorite, and although as a sixth year she could branch out and take more specific electives, she wasn't much interested. She preferred quidditch to any of it, and all she had to do was keep her grades up enough in every class to make sure Professor Longbottom let her stay on the team.

She loved the hours she spent flying around the field, the late summer sun on her shoulders, the wind tangling her hair until it was an even wilder mess. Soon it would be winter, and then practice would be a lot less fun. She had always hated winter.

So, when she saw the light snowfall on her way back to her dorm one night, she threw her books to the ground in frustration.

She was coming back from the library, where her friends usually spent their evenings. It was hard finding places to hang out late at night for students from different houses, but the library was always a good cozy place, even if Merida only ever pretended to study. She had just left them in the torch lit hall a moment before, and at first, she had thought the gently falling white flecks beyond the arches were flower petals. She had poked her head free of the roof to see where they were coming from, only to feel the cold flecks landing on her nose and cheeks.

Snow. It was snowing.

Merida kicked the textbooks that she had just dropped, furiously speechless about the bizarre weather. So far the snow wasn't sticking—it melted as soon as it landed—but if there was still snow on the ground in the morning, she would be livid. She'd make sure that everyone in the Great Hall would know how upset she was. She couldn't believe this! Snow in August! The air was still warm, too. How was it even bloody snowing?

She leaned over the stone wall, looking up at the sky with a squint as snow gently landed on her eyelashes and cheeks. The sky was black, with thousands of stars twinkling down at her. There were no clouds in sight. Where was the snow coming from? Was it some sort of magic? Who was good enough to cause something like this to happen?

A wind picked up, blowing another flurry of snow towards Hogwarts, and Merida looked in the direction it had come from. The Forbidden Forest. She searched the dark trees, grumbling to herself in annoyance. There. Someone was standing at the edge of the woods. Who on earth was it? She was too far away to see anything more than a figure. Whoever it was, she was reporting them immediately to their Head of House. No way in hell was she allowing this snow-thing to continue, and they should know better than to be out by the forest this late. Merida herself had received detention for doing the same thing her third year.

She pulled out her wand and taped her temple beside her eye. "Visus procul," she said aloud.

The air in front of her eyes began to sharpen, and suddenly far away details became very clear to her. It was one of the few spells she was proficient at—it was extremely useful for watching quidditch matches. She blinked a few times before she got used to the difference in vision, then turned to look at the figure by the forest. It was as though she were now standing twenty feet behind him, looking at his back.

It was Jack. It had to be Jack. Who else was that thin and tall with that mess of white hair? Merida didn't know whether to laugh, or march over and yell at him for the snow. She knew it—they could make him a Prefect all they wanted, but he was still more trouble than he was worth.

She held out a hand, feeling the snow on her palm. Had he made it snow? What sort of magic was that? How had he done it? She wanted to ask, but of course he would boast about it if she did. Jack had always been good at delicate spells that required a lot of finesse. The opposite of her.

She wiped her hand on her skirt, thinking she would go down and meet him. She wanted to lay in wait and scare the daylights out of him. Or maybe he was up to something fun that she could join in on. It had been a long time since she had gotten in trouble with him, and she kind of missed it.

She paused when she saw the wind and snow pick up around Jack, blowing through his hair and robe. There was…something in the wind, she could almost see it.

She squinted, stepping forward and almost toppling over the top of the stone wall in front of her, which she couldn't see properly now. The wind picked up even more, and after a second Merida could feel the chill when it reached her all the way back at the castle. Jack didn't seem bothered by how bitingly cold it was. He stared ahead of him, unflinchingly.

There was something there. A humanoid shadow. Two shadows. Tall and thin and purplish in color. As she watched they solidified, although they didn't gain any more shape. They had a head and two arms and two legs, but there weren't any other features that Merida could see. One was easily seven or eight feet tall, and made Jack look like a small child in comparison. The other looked to be about his height. But the shadows looked…not right. Merida's breath had caught in her chest, her heart beating a bit faster. What were those things? Creatures from the forest? Were they dangerous? Was Jack in trouble? Why was he just standing there, staring back at it? Jack and the creatures looked at each other, and after a moment Merida wondered if Jack might be talking to them. The taller one's head bobbed, like it was nodding or looking down at him, and when it seemed to finish it stepped back. Then the smaller one extended a long arm with a shadowy hand toward Jack. Jack hesitated, then stepped forward and reached back.

"What are you doing, Frost, don't touch it! Keep your head, you numpty!" Merida shouted, forgetting she was too far away for him to hear.

Jack touched the thing's hand, his fingers barely brushing across the shadowy ones. Then the shadow pulled back, turning with the wind and the snow to follow the larger creature. They walked toward the trees, but with each step they became more transparent until they were suddenly gone. The wind died down and so did the snow. It fell on Jack's head and shoulders, melting immediately. Then it stopped. Jack remained in front the creaking trees of the Forbidden Forest for another minute before he turned back toward the school. The same hard, stoney expression Merida had seen earlier was on his face again. She watched silently as he headed toward the far east entrance, where he slipped quietly into the school.

The wind picked up again, blowing through Merida's curls. It was warm and dry, like a summer wind should be.


	2. Chapter 2

"So, Merida," Rapunzel started lightly, "Is there a reason you've been staring at Jack all morning?"

Merida tore her eyes from Jack, her spoon sticking out of her mouth. She pulled it out, trying to say nonchalantly, "No, nope, no reason." She had never been very good at nonchalant.

Rapunzel gave her a disbelieving look, then followed Merida's gaze over to the Slytherin table. Merida had joined Rapunzel at the Ravenclaw table for breakfast. It wasn't uncommon for students from other houses to join their friends for breakfast or lunch. Jack had always joined Hiccup at the Hufflepuff table, making a ruckus and causing the other students to laugh. Up until last year, that is, when he'd begun staying at the Slytherin table in order to sit beside Elsa.

Currently, Jack was standing at the end of the Slytherin table, still in his nicely tied tie and full black robe, like all the Prefects. Everyone else had discarded the long robe and the gray sweater, since they weren't required for every day classes. Jack was pretending to survey everyone in the Great Hall to make sure they were all behaving, while secretly entertaining the first years near him by sending little silver sparks into the air to bother Peeves, who was floating around the ceiling. The first years giggled when Peeves swooped down to angrily yell at Jack, who only shrugged innocently. He winked at the first years, before heading off along the table to stand beside Elsa and Professor Tallen.

Professor Tallen was the tall, fierce looking, dark-skinned man with one eye scarred shut, who had been head of Slytherin House since Professor Slughorn had retired in their second year. Rumor had it that Professor Tallen had been in the battle of Hogwarts when he was a student, and his scar had come from none other than Antonin Dolohov. It was a rumor unconfirmed, since any of the professors who had been in the battle weren't allowed to talk to the students about it. "Glory grubbing ridiculousness," the headmistress, Professor McGonagall, called it.

Merida and Rapunzel watched Jack casually chat to the stoic professor and the reserved girl, not seeming to notice that neither were talking back, although Elsa did nod at him now and then.

"Funny that he's getting along so well with Professor Tallen, now," Rapunzel commented. She plucked a tiny strawberry and held it up to her shoulder, where her chameleon, Pascal, was hiding. He was currently the same color as her hair, and was only visible when he peeled an eye open, his pink tongue shooting out to grab the strawberry. "Elsa must be a good influence on him."

"Hm," Merida said, taking a large bite of toast. Jack wasn't acting any differently today. He seemed the same as always, as if he hadn't been out late last night, breaking half a dozen school rules, communing with some unknown magical creatures from the Forbidden Forest.

Merida hadn't told Rapunzel about it yet, although she didn't have a good reason why. Something about the whole situation seemed strange and personal. She couldn't get Jack's face from last night out of her head. He had looked so serious and dark. Never in the six years that she had known him had she seen him look like that. There was something going on in that big old head of his, and Merida had found it difficult to sleep last night, wondering what it could be. She'd even gotten up early and come down to breakfast on time this morning, much to Rapunzel's surprise.

She wondered if Elsa knew what he had been up to. Was his girlfriend ok with him sneaking off to do stupid things like that? She wondered if Hiccup knew what creature Jack was meeting out there. He knew almost every creature in the forbidden forest, and he was Jack's best friend. If Hiccup knew what Jack was up to and Merida didn't, then she would be pissed. If Hiccup _didn't_ know, then she'd be confused. What on earth would Jack be keeping secrets for? They were his best mates, weren't they?

Professor Tallen excused himself from Jack and Elsa without a word or a glance, and with him gone the reserved Elsa seemed more willing to talk. She said something to Jack, to which he smirked and replied with something that made her giggle. Then she stepped past him and walked along the table, calming down a group of rowdy third years. Jack stayed where he was, looking around the Great Hall. He caught Merida's eye, and she panicked. He winked but she just gaped back, forgetting that a normal response from her would have been to make a face.

She was vaguely aware of Rapunzel saying something to her. "What you saying, Punz?"

"Did you finish the Transfiguration homework last night?" Rapunzel asked again.

"Transfiguration homework?" Merida turned away from Jack to stare at Rapunzel.

"Yes, you know. We started it yesterday, and you said you were going to finish when you went back to your room?"

"Ahhh…crivens."

Rapunzel rolled her eyes good naturedly and pulled out her Transfiguration book, homework, and her wand, instructing Merida to do the same. Merida shoved her plate away from her, stuffing one last cookie in her mouth. It stuck out as she hurriedly copied Rapunzel's neat handwriting, listening absently as the blonde chatted to the invisible reptile on her shoulder. As always, Rapunzel didn't notice the stares of the second years across from them.

Merida's quill froze when someone plopped down next to her, his green and silver tie standing out amongst the blue ones at the table. Merida turned wide eyes on Jack, who had straddled the bench facing her direction, his knee bumping hers.

"Hey-o, Dunbroch," he said, snapping the cookie from her teeth and taking a bite of it. "Rapunzel."

"Morning, Jack," Rapunzel replied from Merida's other side.

"What'cha doing there, Punz?" Jack asked, chewing on Merida's cookie and watching Rapunzel sneak more fruit into her hair. "Your hair hungry again?"

"Famished," Rapunzel replied. "It's never satisfied. It keeps me very busy."

The second years across from them paused, their eyes straying toward Rapunzel's long, golden hair.

"A slave to your hair," Jack tsked, shaking his head. "But it's for the best. If you don't appease it, it might turn out like Merida's. She let it go hungry one time too many, and now it's got a mind of its own. Is that first year that it grabbed the other day still in there? I don't hear him screaming anymore." He poked at the mass of curly red hear coming from Merida's head, and the second years across from them swallowed. He paused when Merida just continued to stare at him. "What's up? You feeling ok? You're up pretty early today, and that can only be a bad omen."

She blinked, then swatted his hand away. "Shut it, Frost, or you'll be the next victim." She turned away from him, realizing that she had been searching his face for some sign of the dark expression from last night. There wasn't one.

"You'd like that, wouldn't you?" He tugged on a curl draped over her shoulder. "Do you absorb the magic of your victims through this rat's nest?"

"Aye, definitely." She allowed a more ominous tone to thicken her voice, aware that the poor Ravenclaw second years near them were watching her with wide eyes. "Their bones are still in there somewhere." Then she shot the second years a look and said reassuringly, "Slytherins are my favorite."

"Ooh, I  _bet_  they are," Jack said with a smirk, leaning his chin on his elbow uncomfortably close to her face. She rolled her eyes, pushing his face away. He moved back with a chuckle, standing up behind her and leaning his elbow on her head heavily.

"Ugh, Frost, get offa me, you twat!" Merida complained, trying to wiggle him off. He didn't allow himself to be thrown off.

"So, Rapunzel," Jack said, ignoring Merida. "How'd you do on the pop quiz in Potions yesterday?"

"Full points," Rapunzel replied. In her hair, Pascal coughed on a blueberry and spat it back out, making the second years gasp and gawk. Rapunzel picked up the blueberry from the table top and tossed it in her own mouth. "How'd you do?"

"Only missed one mark." Jack shrugged, still wrestling against Merida, leaning further on her much to her loud annoyance. A few older Ravenclaws looked up from their books in irritation. "I mixed up thistleweed with thistlethorn. I blame Hiccup. He kept going on about razorbacks the other night when I was studying. Where is he, anyway? I haven't seen him this morning. Have you or the freckled monster talked to him?"

"Get  _off_ , Frost!" Merida growled, trying to reach back and smack him, but he was now leaning on her so heavily that she was bent over her homework on the tabletop. "For a skinny prat you're  _heavy_!"

"He's not coming to breakfast," Rapunzel said, ignoring her friend's squawking. "Astrid had early morning quidditch practice, so Hiccup took the opportunity to help Hagrid in the stables before class."

"Ah, I see. Busy guy, our friend." He stumbled when Merida finally managed to fling him off. Peeves was floating overhead, and cackled loudly as Jack practically fell on the lap of a large Gryffindor boy at the table across from them. He grinned at the boy, putting an arm around his shoulder. "Good catch, Baynard. I didn't know you cared."

Baynard shoved Jack off him, glaring at his laughing friends. Jack adjusted his robes, pretending he didn't see Merida's glare and instead sending a smile toward Rapunzel, "I've got rounds to do. I'll see you later, Punzie." Then he turned and walked toward the entrance, his footsteps being drowned out by the morning chatter around him.

Merida jumped up. "Ah, that idiot! He made me forget that I needed to talk to him!" She messily slammed her homework between her textbooks and stumbled away from the table. "I'll see you in class later, Punz."

"Uh, ok," Rapunzel said as Merida left her behind and hurried out of the Great Hall.

Merida dodged through students as they left their breakfast tables and wandered into the halls, only slowing down once when she dropped a quill and had to go back for it. She spotted Jack ahead of her, his white hair sticking out in the crowds, and caught up to him as he descended the stairs to the dungeons and Slytherin common rooms.

"Oi, Jack!" she called, her voice echoing around the dark stone walls.

Jack looked back at her and stopped. "Well, hey," he said, eyebrows raised. "What brings you to these parts?"

She tried uselessly to push her wild hair out of her face, breathing a bit heavy but trying to downplay it. "I wanted to talk to you, is all."

"What, you miss me already? How cute," Jack said.

"You wish, Frost." She glanced down the hall to see who was around. There were only a few Slytherins walking the hall, and a Ravenclaw boy leaning against the wall, presumably waiting for a Slytherin friend.

"So," Jack started after she was silent for a minute, watching her with sharp blue eyes. "What's up? What did you want to talk about?"

"Oh, ah, just wanted to see how you're doing," she said, shifting from foot to foot. "How's the Prefect thing going?"

"Um. It's good," he replied, and she could hear the amusement in his voice.

"Good. Good. How's Elsa doing?"

"Elsa's fine."

"Well, that's good, too. She still getting along well with you?"

"Sure."

"Like she doesn't mind that you talk with your mouth full? Or that you never comb your hair? Or that you sometimes sneak out of the school at night?"

"No, in fact, she loves all of that. She says they're my best qualities."

Merida snorted, but decided not to take the bait to roll with his sarcasm. Instead she said, "Good then. Anything else you want to tell me?"

"Uh, no?" His amusement was growing, a smile tugging at his lips. "Is there anything else  _you_  want to tell me?"

" _No_ , no, no. I was just checking. I mean, you know, secrets between mates and all that. I mean, _I_  don't have any, and you probably don't either, so that's good. Right?" Well, that wasn't true. She was definitely still keeping her love for Hiccup a secret from him, but he didn't need to know how much she wanted to snog his best friend—what good would that do him?

He pursed his lips, holding back a laugh, and she thought about smacking him but tried to hold back. She already knew she was a terrible actress. This was why she was always so easily caught doing something she wasn't supposed to.

"Right," he said. "Well, good talk, Merida, but if there's nothing else, then I've got to go. I'm on hall patrol this morning." He stepped away from her, smiling and shaking his head.

Merida felt her chest hitch, knowing that he was about to get away and that she hadn't accomplished what she'd come here for. She quickly said after him, "Ok, well, if you do ever have a secret or you're not doing good, you know I'm your friend, right? Or at least Hiccup. You've always told him everything, right?"

Jack's smile faltered, ever so slightly. If she hadn't been staring at him so intently she might not have noticed. His eyes searched hers, and she couldn't help but feel like they burned a little bit. As much as she refused to admit it over the years, she understood why girls swooned over him. His full smile returned.

"Yeah. Of course," he said.

And he was lying. Jack was a great actor, but she'd known him too long not to notice, and he knew it, too. She took a step forward, preparing to ask him what was going on outright, but he stepped back. She could see it in his face that he knew she was going to pry further, and he wasn't willing to let it happen.

With a wide smile he said, "I'll see you around, Merida." He gave her a two-finger salute before turning and walking briskly away.

"Grr," Merida grumbled to herself, clenching her hand around her textbooks. "Not again, you twat." She ran after him, but by the time she rounded the corner to catch him up, all she saw was the Slytherin common room door sliding shut again.

* * *

The more Merida thought about Jack running away from her, the more it pissed her off. So, the more she tried to chase him down and corner him in order to force some sort of truth out of him. And the more she chased him, the more elusive he got. She had no idea how he did it. One minute she would spot him walking by himself and call out to him, and the next he would be surrounded by a group of students, all of them laughing at him and making it impossible for Merida to reach him. Other times he just disappeared completely, as if through the stone walls. More than once she had run after him, only to round a corner and find herself at a dead end. They had two classes with the Slytherins, but even then Jack chose to sit with Elsa or others instead of beside her, like he had done when they were children. And he somehow always came late, claiming "Prefect duties" had kept him, and always left early with Elsa, too. It was driving her crazy. And it was showing.

"What is  _up_  with you?" Rapunzel demanded one day, breathing hard. She had been walking with Merida when suddenly they had spotted Jack down the hall. Jack had run, and Merida had been hot on his tail, Rapunzel following in confusion.

"It's not me, it's him!" Merida responded, looking angrily around the moving staircases in front of her. She looked above them and below them, but nowhere did she see the shock of white hair or long black robe. She slammed a fist on the stone railing, cursing the stupid idiot.

"It's you," Rapunzel said, leaning over her knees and wiping her forehead. "You've been acting weird for weeks. Why are you obsessing over this? You keep staring at him and chasing him around. You really feel like he's hiding something from us?"

"It's obvious, isn't it?" Merida said angrily. "Why else would he be running?"

"Even if he is, Merida, don't you think he has a good reason? He's never hidden anything from us before—why don't you just let it go and wait for him to come to us?"

Merida clenched her jaw to keep from snapping at her friend. She had yet to mention the strange creatures from the Forbidden Forest, but she had asked Hiccup, Rapunzel, and Astrid quietly in the library one day if they thought anything was up with Jack. They had all shrugged and said they hadn't noticed anything.

Rapunzel was right, as much as Merida didn't want to admit it. She didn't really know why she was letting this thing with Jack get under her skin so terribly, but she couldn't help it. Maybe Rapunzel just didn't understand. Merida had always been closer to Jack than she had been, laughing over the same stupid things, having long conversations over Professor Longbottom's homebrewed tea in the detention room. She had counted on him to be the buffer between her and Hiccup when he had begun hanging out with Astrid. She never had to be the awkward third wheel when Jack was there. Even when Jack had drifted away from them to be with Elsa, she had told herself it didn't really change anything. He was still best friends with Hiccup. He still adored Rapunzel. He still showed up to laugh with her, or at her, now and then. He just had Elsa to do that with, too. And she couldn't blame him. Elsa was gorgeous.

But now, now he was purposely keeping something from her, and she hated it more than she had thought she would.

Rapunzel's chastising at least convinced her to calm down. She stopped sprinting after Jack in the halls, which was better for her because she had already been yelled at by the teachers half a dozen times, and once Professor McGonagall had even raised an eyebrow at her, which was always bone-chilling. She settled for staring at the back of Jack's head in class, and whenever he did turn around to look at her, she simply held his gaze until he turned away first. She finally agreed with Rapunzel that he'd better get over whatever diva issues he had and talk to them on his own.

She hadn't seen it snow again. The weather advanced as normal, although it became colder more quickly than she would have liked. So a month after school had started, Merida found herself at the first quidditch game of the year, unprepared for the chill, shivering like crazy.

"Merlin's beard, it's freezing," she complained, folding her arms so her hands could be tucked under her armpits.

"It is pretty cold," Rapunzel agreed, wrapping her blue scarf tightly around her. "Poor Pascal isn't doing so hot."

"You and me both, Pascal," Merida said as they climbed the stairs to the Gryffindor stands. Merida cringed against the wind as they reached the top, other Gryffindors coming up around them, filling the wooden bleachers. Despite the cold, Merida couldn't help but look out at the field longingly. The first game of the year was going to be Hufflepuff against Ravenclaw.

"Crivens, I want to be out there," she said as she watched the Ravenclaw team fly together, warming up. They were in perfect unison, flying in constantly shifting patterns of formation even as they ducked and weaved through the stands. That was so Ravenclaw, she thought.

"You will be next week," Rapunzel said excitedly. "And I've almost got the banner ready with your face on it."

"Oh, goody. Since the last one turned out so well."

"Well, the last one had some kinks. I mixed up 'fire red' with 'red fire' for your hair, and, well, you remember what happened. This time I asked for Jack's help, so it's perfect."

Merida bit her tongue, choosing not to dig further into how Rapunzel had managed to talk to Jack when he was still so adamantly avoiding her.

They stopped at the front of the bleachers, and Merida removed her hands from the safe warmth of her robe to lean on the railing. She watched the players fly, the other stands fill in with teachers and students and the occasional parent, and listened absently to the young Slytherin announcer, who was gearing up for a dramatic match.

After a few minutes her eyes drifted, as they always did, to the benches where the Hufflepuff team was getting ready. Even from this far, she could see Astrid in her bright yellow robes, adjusting her boots while Hiccup stood next to her in his normal school uniform, holding her broom. Astrid finished and stood up, taking her broom and Merida felt her heart sinking into her stomach as they said something to each other before leaning in to kiss.

Just before she saw them make contact, someone popped up right in front of her. She screamed, reeling back, only to see Jack grinning widely at her.

"Hey, there, Mer," he said. He was standing on the outside of the stand, his grip on the railing the only thing keeping him from the forty foot drop to the ground. He turned to the surprised Rapunzel with the same smile. "Hey, Punzie. You guys ready for this?"

"We sure are!" Rapunzel replied, shooting a glance at Merida.

Merida just gaped at him, her surprise burned away by her anger. "What the hell, Frost?" she snapped. "You ignore me for weeks, and suddenly you're popping up like a pimple when you're least wanted? Have you boiled your head, what are you doing up here like that—"

"Ah, sorry, no time to talk," he quickly cut her off, "Just wanted to show you something. C'mere." He grabbed her hand and yanked her forward, pulling out his wand. "I learned a new spell."

Taken off guard, her next sentence was lost in her open mouth. She and Rapunzel watched as he tapped her palm with the tip of his wand. From the wand was left a tiny lump of round gold. She leaned closer to look at it, but Jack took her other hand and put them both together, so her hands were cupped around the little lump, hiding it from sight.

Merida looked down at her hands nearly completely enveloped by his, wondering when his hands had gotten so big. Last she had checked, she, Hiccup, and Jack had all been the same size. Hiccup had grown up. She supposed Jack must have, too.

His gloved hands remained around hers, the leather of the fabric cold on her skin. "Ok, now hold it like this for just a minute."

She looked up at him suspiciously. "What is this?"

"It's a new spell. You'll like it."

"If this spits water at me or turns into a bogey or does anything else of the like, I swear I'll knock you off this tower."

"That is a risk I am willing to take."

"How are you up here, anyway?" Rapunzel asked, leaning over the railing to see where he had perched his feet. Merida looked, too. He was standing on the handle of a hovering broom. "And why are you dressed like that?" Rapunzel asked next.

Merida looked at him again. He was in his normal uniform, but he was also wearing elbow pads and black gloves. His tie was gone and around his neck was a pair of goggles. He wasn't wearing a sweater or his robe, and didn't seem to be the least bit pink around the nose or the cheeks because of the cold.

"What are you dressed like that for?" Merida questioned, narrowing her eyes. "You're not planning on crashing this match are you?"

"I would never do such a thing!" he said with a gasp. "I am a  _Prefect_." Merida and Rapunzel shared a skeptical look, and Jack continued, "Really, though, I'm just helping referee. Madam Hooch said her eyes aren't what they used to be, so she asked me to help her out."

"She asked  _you_?" Merida asked. Jack was amazing on a broom, it was true. She'd never seen someone so natural in the air, as if he belonged there. It drove her mad and pushed her to practice even harder. Yet no matter how much she had fought with him when they were first and second years, he had refused to join the Slytherin quidditch team. He had claimed that it would get in the way of his free time. She was never sure if she should be glad she didn't have to go up against him in the pitch, or if she should be irritated at him for treating her favorite sport so flippantly. "First a Prefect, now you're being asked to help referee? Who are you?"

"I'm the same old me. All the teachers just suddenly realized how perfect I am. The perfect Prefect."

"Right, yeah, and I'm the muggle queen of England."

"Are you? My apologizes, your majesty."

"Hey!" A shout came from behind them, "Rapunzel!"

The three turned to see Kristoff, captain of the Gryffindor team, hurrying down the bleachers toward them, looking at home in the cold with his huge jacket and knit hat.

"Oh, hey, Jack, Merida," he greeted with a grin.

"Hey, Kris," Jack returned. "You ready for this match?"

"Of course!" Kris said, "But not half as ready as I am for our match next week. We'll slaughter the Slytherins, so watch out." Then his eyes strayed to where Jack still had his hands around Merida's. Merida stiffened and pulled back, but Jack held on.

"It's almost done, just give it a second," Jack told her, and she turned her glare away from him, hoping Kristoff knew her cheeks were only red because of the cold.

"Anyway, Rapunzel," Kristoff said, turning to the blonde, "Can you come help me with something real quick? I decided to get that birthday present for Anna like you suggested, but well, I'm having issues with the…" He glanced behind them at the other Gryffindors, who weren't paying them any attention, but lowered his voice anyway, "The  _thing_ , you know."

"Right," Rapunzel whispered back, "The  _thing_. Ok." She turned to Merida. "I'll be back in a couple minutes."

"Fine." Merida sighed dramatically. "If you must. Don't miss the beginning of the match." Rapunzel hurried after Kristoff, who looked around in paranoia, although Merida knew full well that the birthday present was nothing more than a silly love song Rapunzel had helped him write for his girlfriend Anna, Elsa's younger sister, who was a fifth year in Ravenclaw house.

After a second Merida realized she had been left alone with Jack, and she snapped her head in his direction, eyes narrowing. He must have realized the same thing at the same moment, because his eyes slowly slid toward her.

"Jack—" she started heatedly.

" _Merida_ ," he cut her off with an exasperated sigh. "No."

"Don't you ' _no_ ' me, you scaffy loon! You've been avoiding me for weeks, obviously not wanting the least bit to do with me, and now, poof, here you are! Are you ready to talk to me about whatever new mischief you're up to?"

"I'm not up to any mischief, you mental girl." He rolled his eyes.

"Oh,  _aye_ , and you didn't actually drop your pumpkin juice the other day in order to jump over the first floor balcony to avoid me. Quit with your fussing and give it up!"

"I've got nothing to give up! You're being paranoid." He glanced around at the stands behind her, making sure no one was listening to them. Merida inhaled sharply through her nose, and then tried a different approach. She lowered her voice, trying to sound more comforting and kind, like Rapunzel always did.

"Jack, listen, I don't want to be prying into your business." Actually, she did, but these were Rapunzel's words, not hers, "I just don't understand why you don't want to talk to us. We always talked before. We're friends, right?"

"Of course we are, don't be stupid."

"Alright, then, I don't get it! You can't talk to us anymore, is that it? Just your girlfriend, now?"

"Who, Elsa? She's not my girlfriend."

"Don't be  _stupid_ , what reason have you got to lie to my face about that—"

"I'm not lying," he said lightly. "She's not my girlfriend. Elsa and I are close, and last year I thought it might have worked out, but…stuff happened. We never were officially together, and then we decided we were better as friends anyway."

Merida blinked as he scanned the stands, looked down at their hands, turned slightly as the Hufflepuff team was announced with a cheer from the crowds. Basically, he was looking anywhere but directly at her. Merida had seen Jack and Elsa together—everyone had, and no one had a doubt in their minds that the two were a couple. How could they when they talked together quietly and intimately in public, and held hands even when people were looking?

Then again, had Merida seen any of that since the beginning of this year? She saw them together frequently, but looking back she had to admit that they didn't seem as physical as they had been the previous year.

Merida bit her lip. Jack hadn't told her any of this until now. So, he was keeping _a lot_ of things from her. Maybe it was because she was a girl? Maybe he talked to Hiccup about this stuff. Maybe it hadn't been his choice, and he was heartbroken. Maybe that was making him act out, seeking solace in trouble outside of school. She didn't know. How could she know? They didn't really talk anymore.

"So…Elsa doesn't know what's going on with you, either, then?" she asked.

He rolled his eyes. "There isn't anything going on, you're being insane."

Her eye twitched. She fought to keep the same calm tone but it came out through clenched teeth. "I'm not being insane. I  _saw you_ , Jack. A few weeks ago you were outside by the forest, and  _I saw you_  with those things. What were you doing out there? You up to something with creatures from the Forbidden—"

He grabbed her shoulder, pulling her closer and speaking low and fast, "Who have you told?"

"Huh?" she said, her mind going blank when she felt his cold breath on her face. He was very close. Way too close. Closer than any boy had ever been to her face, including Hiccup. Well, except Hogarth at the fourth year Christmas party, but that kiss was terrible and didn't count. And on top of the proximity, his eyes were so intense it was a bit frightening. "No one," she quickly answered, shaking her head. "I haven't told anyone."

"Are you sure?"

"Of course, I'm sure."

He exhaled, his grip on her shoulder relaxing. She was beyond words. His reaction left her more confused than she had been before. What on earth was going on?

"Please don't tell anyone," he said, sounding like all the energy had suddenly gone out of him. All the while he kept eye contact with her, and she could feel the familiar burn behind her eyes. "It's not anything that will get anyone in trouble, trust me. Just…don't tell anyone."

Even if he hadn't asked her, she didn't know what she would tell anyone. She still didn't have any more of an idea of what was going on with him than she had before. But he looked desperate, and she wanted to reassure him. "I won't. I swear it."

He exhaled again and leaned back, looking relieved. "Thank you." Then he smiled at her, and it was a smile she hadn't seen from him in a long time—it was sincere and sweet and wholly for her. And she didn't feel as cold as she had before. And then she felt suddenly awkward. And aware that he was holding her hands in front of every Gryffindor behind her.

Then she felt something move inside her palms. She let out a squawk, looking down at them.

"Finally," Jack said, thankfully turning his attention away from her face. "It wasn't supposed to take this long to warm up. Your hands must have been freezing."

Something moved again. It was wriggling and growing bigger, bumping against her palms and fingers. She opened her hands slightly and saw a dull glow. He let go of her hands and she opened them fully, revealing a sparkling and golden flower bud, with little golden leaves and curling vines coming from the base. As she watched, the flower opened, wide enough to fill both her hands. The inside was golden and orange, with little streaks of red at the base of every petal. The vines curled and twisted around her fingers and wrist like little hugs. She recognized it immediately, and for a second the roaring sounds of the now full stadium seemed far away.

"It's a Treasure Flower," she said, looking back up at him, her lips in a small 'O' shape.

"Yep. I know you don't really like flowers, but, hey." He shrugged. "That's the best I got."

She wasn't a fan of flowers, he was right, but this particular flower was special to her. As a little girl she had helped her mother plant these in their garden. It was a silly but cherished memory from the years before her relationship with her mother had become strained and difficult. She still liked seeing the golden flowers every time she passed the garden. She wistfully thought of them as little drops of the sun that brightened the green and sometimes dank Scottish moors.

When had she told Jack about these? Had Hiccup told him? Why had he gone out of his way to give her one now?

She was beyond confused. She was having a hard time keeping up with Jack's swing in emotions lately—upset, serious, flirtatious teasing, avoiding her, then giving her nice gifts? Jack had never been so weird. Whatever secret he was adamant about keeping was affecting him, and she wondered how long he could hide it. The more she thought about it, the more she wanted to know about it herself.

"Jack," she started, her eyebrows drawing together, "What's going on with you?"

His smile turned into a frustrated frown. " _Drop it_ , Merida. It's not anything."

"How can I drop it, you twat? You're being too weird, what am I supposed to think?" She took a step toward him but he pushed off from the railing, somehow managing to keep perfect balance standing on the handle of his broom. She blinked at him hovering freely in the air, glaring back at her. A couple fourth years a few feet away gasped and pointed at him but he ignored them.

"Let it go, Merida," he said firmly. "It's none of your business."

She clenched her teeth. How could he possibly expect her to let it go?

"Ooh, that's a pretty flower!" Rapunzel said, popping up beside Merida again. "Wow, Jack! How are you so good at Charms? Your creativity and skill are always so impressive."

"Thanks, Punzie," Jack said, tone easy but intense gaze still on Merida. "I've always been a charming person. Right, Mer?"

Merida kept glaring. Rapunzel looked back and forth between them with an odd look.

"Um, Jack," Rapunzel said next, her eyes looking worriedly out at the quidditch field. "Aren't you supposed to be out there?"

They turned. In the center of the field, hovering on their level, were both quidditch teams, with Madam Hooch between them, the quaffle in her hand. They were all looking at Jack. Astrid was at the front of the Hufflepuff's team, and she spread her arms at them questioningly.

"Ah, whoops. I'll see you guys later." He dropped down onto his broom and hurried away to join the players.

"I still can't believe Madam Hooch asked for his help," Rapunzel said with forced cheer, evidently deciding not to ask about what had happened while she was gone. "Did you ever think we'd see the day when all the teachers would be relying on him?"

The quaffle flew into the air and the whistle blew, but Merida found herself watching Jack's back. "No," she said, feeling the little vines of the flower curl around her fingers and wrists, "I never thought we would."

* * *

Jack stopped avoiding her, but he wasn't any more forthcoming about anything. He only hung out with them when they were all together, and would respond to her passive aggressive, and sometimes aggressive, comments with a flippant or underhanded comment of his own. It led to lots of rants to poor Rapunzel on how annoying and impossible he was, to which Rapunzel never had her questions answered as to why, exactly, he and Merida were now fighting.

"Why are you two so up in arms every time you see each other?" Hiccup asked one day in the library, dropping his book that was impossible to read with Merida's snarling and Jack's cool comebacks interrupting. Astrid had given up half an hour ago and left for the common rooms, and Rapunzel had buried her face in a book ages ago, deciding to avoid the situation.

"We're not up in arms. Princess fussy pants over here is just  _Scottish_ ," Jack said, his feet propped up on a chair as he charmed pieces of paper into origami cranes that then flew over their heads. "Can she be anything but a pain in the butt?"

With a growl, Merida snatched the cranes out of the air, crumpling them in her fist and tossing them at Jack. He let them hit him without so much as blinking.

"See what I mean?" he said to Hiccup.

Hiccup gave an exasperated sigh and turned a fond look to her, which made Merida swallow her angry remark prepared for Jack, and instead pick up the book that she was supposed to be reading. Idiot Slytherin boy. Making  _her_  look like the one in the wrong when  _he_  was the one being a putz in the first place.

Half the time she stubbornly ignored Jack when he was around, the other half the time she tried to weasel information out of him, or drop in on him when he was having conversations with other people. Once she did it when he was walking alone with Elsa, and ended up startling the poor blonde girl. When Merida went in to ask, "Do  _you_ know what this git is up to?" Jack put her in a headlock and dragged her away, leaving Elsa to watch them go with wide eyes.

"It's none of your business," he kept insisting. The more he said it, the more Merida resented it. She didn't stop to wonder why, although Rapunzel was giving her stranger and stranger looks as the days passed.

The weather took another turn for the worse. A storm came in, with freezing rains that dropped the temperature even inside of the protected stone walls of Hogwarts. No one dared go outside for three days, and even Care for Magical Creatures was moved inside to the great hall, which meant the room smelled like exotic birds. Quidditch practice was canceled, and Gryffindor's first game against Slytherin was postponed, much to Merida's horror. She moaned as she roamed the halls with Rapunzel, lamenting every time she sat in class, staring at the rain on the window panes. The weather was downright ridiculous, and the only consolation she had was the fact that it had yet to snow like she had seen a month ago.

Jack, the devil, was MIA. She absently wondered if it was because she was in a fouler mood than normal and he was trying to stay out of her line of fire. Coward. He had just better not be avoiding her again. She hadn't really liked that the first time.

When she asked Hiccup about it on the fourth day of rain, he answered, "I haven't seen him either, so I asked Elsa about it this morning. She said he caught a cold and has been laid up in the infirmary for a few days. I asked if we should go and visit him, but she said he was doing better and just needed some rest. I guess she knows best—she is his girlfriend. Have you finished your Care for Magical Creatures homework, Mer? I won't go easy on you just because we're friends."

A pit settled in Merida's stomach the rest of the day. She couldn't pinpoint exactly why, but it festered woefully until she found herself unable to focus in any class. Before she knew it, she was skipping her last class of the day and heading up to the infirmary instead. The halls were quiet, and she had to duck out of sight once when Nearly Headless Nick and the Red Baron floated down the hallway, deep in conversation about some ghostly women they had met at the last Specter's Ball. She waited for them to pass before hurrying on.

She wasn't sure what she was expecting—probably for Jack to be sitting in bed drinking butterbeer, perfectly fine and only faking an illness in order to avoid his Prefect responsibilities. She didn't expect to see the headmistress outside the infirmary door, talking in hushed tones to  Professor Longbottom and the new nurse, Toothiana.

Merida panicked, quickly ducking behind a suit of armor that turned its rusty, creaking head toward her. She quickly told it to shush, begging it not to rat her out. Calming her breathing, she strained her ears, trying to pick out what the teachers were saying.

"He's been fine since then?" Professor McGonagall said in her brusque voice. Through cracks in the suit of armor, Merida could see that the woman's long, withered hands were clasped behind her back tightly.

"Well, yes, he's been all right," Toothiana said, her gestures and voice quick and fluttery. She was a petite, pretty woman with short multicolored hair. She was even smaller than Merida, who felt like a clumsy lug next to her, despite how friendly she was. "I mean, all things considered."

"Isn't the potion helping?" McGonagall asked, turning to Professor Longbottom.

The tall man scratched the back of his neck, his worn sweater rising up a bit. "Um, well, it's doing what it can. I always make sure it's full of rageweed, but it can't fix anything, it can only help with the symptoms, so…"

"Didn't Professor Tallen tell me that he was doing better? What's really going on?" McGonagall demanded.

Toothiana and Professor Longbottom shared a look. Then Professor Longbottom looked away and Toothiana told the headmistress hesitantly, "He's not doing as well as we'd hoped. He's actually declined quite rapidly in the last few weeks, compared to the last few years."

"What about Ms. Arendell?" McGonagall asked.

"She's doing fine, as far as we can tell. Much better than last year, almost no symptoms at all."

"So, what's the difference? What about Mr. Frost?"

Toothiana continued, "Well, we're not really sure. Elsa comes from a very different situation than Jack. Ever since she reconciled with her family, she's been doing phenomenally better. Jack, well, he doesn't have the same support system. His uncle's too far away, and it isn't exactly something he can talk about. The teachers are all doing what they can."

"Hm," Professor McGonagall mused. "Then, is there anything else we can do for him now?"

Toothiana looked down at her fidgeting hands and Professor Longbottom dropped his hand from the back of his neck. "No," Professor Longbottom said, "There isn't."

Professor McGonagall nodded, and after urging them to keep doing what they could, she turned and swept down the hall, her long robes billowing behind her. Toothiana and Professor Longbottom sighed, turning to talk to each other in quieter tones, before Professor Longbottom also left and the nurse slipped inside the infirmary.

Merida took a deep breath, realizing she had been holding it. Something was definitely very wrong.

She leaned back against the wall; her head was spinning a little. The pit in her stomach seemed heavier, as well as the guilt that was settling over her shoulders at her stupid behavior the last few weeks. Whatever was wrong with Jack, she certainly hadn't been helpful or supportive of him. She stayed there for quite a while, ignoring the suit of armor, who patted her shoulder comfortingly.

* * *

The next day was sunny. The air was still a bit chilly, but the sun was warm and everyone seemed more cheerful because of it. Everyone but Merida. She hurried down to breakfast, hoping to see Jack, and if not, then intending to march right up to Elsa and ask if they could talk. She never even made it to the Great Hall, since Kristoff intercepted her on the way. He told her the quidditch game was back on that afternoon, so long as the weather stayed nice, and he wanted to squeeze in an early morning practice before then.

Being on a broom in the sun did make her feel better. Or, rather, keeping her focus on chasing the quaffle and dodging bludgers helped distract her for a while. Then she was stuck in classes again, and she fell asleep on her desk more than once, tired from a restless night and an early workout.

"So," Rapunzel said to her just before the game, "Do you love it?"

Rapunzel was holding one corner of a long banner. Hiccup held the other end, and he and Astrid seemed to be trying not to laugh. The banner had a huge image of Merida, who looked regal and important on top of her broom in her scarlet and gold uniform, but her hair was insanely wild, even more so than in real life. It stuck up in every direction like a giant afro, and the flashing gold words on the side said, "Dunbroch, 04. Go, go, Gryffindor!"

"Mm, yes, I…love it," Merida said with a forced smile at her friend.

"Yay!" Rapunzel said, jumping up and down before throwing her arms around Merida.

Merida hugged her back, catching Hiccup's eye over her shoulder. When Rapunzel let her go, Hiccup said, "Kill it out there, Mer."

"Will do," she said. She would have gone in for a hug, but decided not to. She was trying to back off, after all. Even if he looked cute in the Gryffindor t-shirt beneath his jacket that Rapunzel had made for him.

"You'd better win," Astrid said, also begrudgingly wearing a Gryffindor t-shirt. "Because I want to be the only one who beats you."

"Of course we'll win," Merida said with a snort and a pointed look, "I'm not letting  _anyone_  beat us." Merida and Astrid high fived a little harder than necessary. Merida looked around the field, then up at the stands, which were filling up quickly with nearly the entire student body. Kristoff was on the field briefing the team and looking at her with urgent eyes to get over there. "Has anyone heard about Jack?" she asked, looking up at the Slytherin stands.

"Yeah, I talked to him at breakfast," Hiccup said, and she snapped her head back in his direction.

"You did? He's out of the infirmary?" she said sharply.

"Yeah, he's doing fine. Said he just had a bad fever and a head cold for a couple days. He's all better now, although I suppose he won't be helping ref. He probably should take it easy while he can."

They all wished Merida good luck before Rapunzel excitedly whisked them away to the Gryffindor stands, where they would be the only non-Gryffindors on the front row. Merida walked out to the field in a daze, the sound of the crowd just a buzz in her ears. Her eyes were still on the Slytherin stands, but of course she couldn't make out any individual faces from this far down. Then she saw Kristoff anxiously waving her over, and she jogged out to him.

The game was short and fast. Merida threw all her stress into it, chasing the quaffle with such vigor that the seventh year Slytherin guarding her literally shrunk back at one point, giving her clear access to the hoops, much to his team's annoyance. They finished the game in record time, the score 160 to 100, with Gryffindor in the lead before their seeker, a third year named James P., snagged the snitch.

Lost in the adrenaline and cheer of the crowd as her team circled the arena victoriously to the sound of fireworks and lion roars, she reveled in triumph. Half an hour later on the edge of the field, she laughed loudly and returned slaps on the back. Rapunzel practically tackled her, and she couldn't avoid Hiccup's hug, either. She shook Astrid's hand a little too tightly, only for both girls to be nearly knocked to the ground when Kristoff's girlfriend, Anna, came crashing through the crowd. Merida and the rest of her team turned in embarrassment as their captain and Anna kissed each other a million times.

The student body was moving back to the school in mass, and when Merida turned, she spotted the head of white hair she had been hoping to see.

Jack was walking with Elsa and a group of Slytherins who looked pissed off that their team had lost, but Jack cupped a hand to his mouth and shouted to Merida anyway, "Nice flying, Dunbroch!"

She just looked back at him. He smiled, he laughed, he joked when a classmate hit his back, he slung an arm around Elsa's shoulder jovially. He didn't look sick. He didn't look like the secret subject of the headmistress, the nurse, and the Herbology professor.

"Hold this, Punz," Merida held her broom out and barely waited for Rapunzel to take it before she ran into the crowd.

She received some slaps on the shoulder and congratulations as she raced on, not caring that she was still in her quidditch gear, or that her hair was now falling out of her ponytail in a sweaty, frizzy mess. She was heading down the ground floor hall towards the stairs to the dungeons, not sure where else to look, when she spotted Jack out a window. So, he was still outside, headed toward the main entrance. There were a few students walking his same direction, but he was walking alone.

Merida skidded to a halt, before turning on her heel and running back to find an exit. She bumped into a few younger kids, accidentally sending one sprawling. Grabbing the kid roughly, she set them on their feet, apologizing before moving on. She ran along the covered stone walkway, taking a shortcut through the courtyard to catch up with Jack quicker. Finally, she spotted him below her, walking on the grass. She was on the walkway, with a three-foot stone wall and a four-foot drop separating them, but if she went around, she would lose him. So she sprinted forward, reaching to grab hold of the hood of his robe, and nearly knocking the wind out of herself when her stomach slammed into the top of the wall. Not that it mattered, since she was already completely out of breath.

Stopped in his tracks, Jack turned toward her with a shocked face, his blue eyes wide.

"Jack," she said, her voice wheezing, a drop of sweat sliding down her temple, "Are you ok?"

He blinked at her. "I…yeah. I'm fine. What's up?"

She shook her head, trying to catch her breath, not releasing her hold on him. "I heard Professor McGonagall talking to Professor Longbottom and Toothiana outside the infirmary."

She paused to breath, and watched his face go blank as he realized what she was saying.

"Don't lie," she said firmly. "And don't you  _dare_  tell me it's none of my business. You're my friend. And I was," she paused to shake her head again, feeling her throat getting tight, "So worried. You stupid idiot, what were you thinking? You're playing stupid Mr. Prefect like everything's peachy keen while it isn't and I'm going crazy worrying about you, and you're not helping at  _all_!" Choking on the last word, she looked away from him and cleared her throat.

He shifted and she looked back to see him reaching up for her. He wrapped his arms around her and she responded in kind, holding him tightly around the neck. She could feel his fingers gripping her robe desperately, like a lifeline, which just made the lump in her throat harder to swallow.

Although, hugging like this was really not comfortable. After a few minutes she could feel the wall digging into her bottom ribs as she leaned over it, and it couldn't be better for him. She began pulling away, saying in his ear, "Hang on, I'll come down."

His grip on her tightened fiercely, keeping her close, but he pulled one hand away. She glanced over to see out of her periphery that he had pulled out his wand, which he tapped twice on the wall she was leaning over. She let out a yelp when a section of the wall disappeared and she fell straight through, knocking her and Jack to the ground. Her arms stung a little from the fall, but at least they had landed on grass and not stone. He didn't let go of her. She dropped her chin onto his shoulder, closing her eyes, her cheek brushing his ear. She still didn't know what the problem was, and she had no idea what he was thinking or feeling, so she could only imagine. Was he afraid? Was he sad? He needed someone, obviously, and if he'd settle for her right now then that was ok with her.

She inhaled sharply when she felt his shoulders start shaking. It was almost imperceptible, and she figured he wouldn't want her to know that he was crying. She'd never seen him cry before, not even when he had broken his leg in their second year. She'd helped Hiccup carry him back to the castle, and he had sucked in through his teeth in pain, but he hadn't cried. If he was crying now, then he must be in real pain, whether that was emotional or physical. Her heart ached for him.

Then a quiet chuckle brushed past her ear.

Her eyes snapped open and she pulled back, staring down at him incredulously.

"Are you…are you  _laughing_?" Even as she asked, his quiet chuckle was getting stronger, his nose scrunching up like it always did. She wanted to punch him. She had thought they were having a serious moment, and here was the moron,  _laughing it off_. "What the hell, Frost?" She sat up angrily, smacking his shoulder.

He quickly followed, taking the fabric at her waist in a fist so she couldn't go too far. He said between laughter, "Wait, wait, I'm sorry, don't leave."

Her cheeks were burning, and it wasn't just because of her run here. She was embarrassed for being so emotional only to have him laugh at her, and she definitely didn't feel like she deserved that. He glanced at her face, which caused another breathy chuckle to escape him. She must've been pouting, a stupid habit her mother always pointed out but that she couldn't help.

His face became more serious and he leaned towards her to say more softly, "I'm sorry for laughing." But he still didn't have the brokenhearted face she had been expecting, which sort of made her feel better and sort of annoyed her.

He reached up with his free hand and pushed back a loose curl that had fallen from her ponytail. She continued glaring at him and he looked like he might laugh again, but he choked it down and asked, "What did you hear outside the infirmary?"

That sobered her up quickly. Her eyes dropped away from his and caught on the Prefect pin on his sweater. She straightened it. "They were talking about you and how you're…doing worse. And something about a potion that's not helping, and Elsa, who's doing better but you're not and…that there's not really anything they can do."

"Ah," he responded.

She was nervous to see his expression, but she had to look. His lips were pursed and he was looking off to the side, thinking. He must have felt her eyes on him because he turned back and another chuckle escaped him.

"What a face you're making!" he said, his smile a strange mixture of teasing and affection. She flinched in surprise when both his hands came up to cup her cheeks. His fingers were cool against her skin, and she felt chills on the back of her neck. "It's ok, Merida, I'm not  _terminal_  or anything. I'm going to live, it's not that sort of problem."

She let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. Her eyes closed and her shoulders slumped. "Crivens, thank Merlin and his seven wives. Then what—"

Then, her brain must have completely fritzed out or exploded, or maybe she actually got hit by a bludger on the field and this was a dream. Whatever the reason, it couldn't actually be that Jack Frost, infamous git, Slytherin Prefect, had just leaned forward and put his lips on hers.

Her brain clicked back on after a few seconds. Her eyes were open, although she didn't remember opening them. Her lips were definitely still tingling. His hands had fallen from her face to rest lightly on her elbows. He was smirking.

"If you want," he said in a light tone, as though he were offering her a glass of pumpkin juice and not discussing his dark secrets, "I'll tell you everything."


	3. Chapter 3

_"If you want, I'll tell you everything. But not here."_

That's how Merida found herself following Jack to the owlery. Jack always took long, loping strides, as though he had all the time in the world and yet knew that wherever he was going was exciting. She'd never understood his pace. It was different than Hiccup's, who walked calmly, taking his time to observe everything around him. Merida herself had a tendency to run places, which drove her mother crazy, but which Rapunzel didn't mind and easily kept up with.

There were still plenty of students in the hallway, heading to or from late classes or the library, or simply hanging around in the hallways. Still in her scarlet quidditch uniform, Merida received some fists in the air and some clapping. Not that her robes mattered—with her wild hair, Merida was used to standing out. Most everyone knew who she was, even if they didn't know her name. Jack was the same, even more so now that he was associated with Elsa Arendell.

As they walked, Jack was booed by a fellow Slytherin for being with her, to which Jack shot back a snarky remark that was more friendly than malicious. The whole way Merida simply kept pace beside him in silence, careful not to let her hand brush his or their shoulders bump.

More than once she thought she should say something, but each time she couldn't think of anything and ended up frustrated and flustered. Was she supposed to comment on the heavy topic that was undoubtedly about to be unfolded to her? Was she supposed to ignore it and talk about something normal and unimportant? Was she supposed to ask about the kiss?

Oh, bloody hell, no. Thinking about the kiss made her face hot and her chest tense, which was annoying and embarrassing all at once. Jack didn't seem to notice, which she thanked her lucky stars for, and took quick breaths through her nose to calm down.

Outside again, the sun was now sinking below the horizon, and the breeze that had once felt good on her sweaty skin was now a bit cool for her. Climbing the steep stairs behind Jack, the sound of gentle hoots and clacking beaks reached her ears. She stood in the doorway of the owlery, her eyes adjusting to the lower light, as Jack walked in amongst the ruffling of feathers of the birds, who were waking up for the night. He headed for a large white bird at the back that turned wide, yellow eyes on him. Drago was a massive snow owl that Jack shared with his uncle, North, but the creature hardly looked like a snow owl except that he was white. Compared to the other owls around him, Drago was a monster at nearly three feet tall, with a five-foot wingspan and massive black claws. Feathers stuck out over the ridges on his eyes, giving him frightening eyebrows and a permanent, wide-eyed glare. He opened his beak and screeched when Jack handed him a dead mouse from the supply box on the table.

Merida stayed back, crinkling her nose at the smell. Her family had a small flock of barn owls that they used, but they were nothing like Drago. Merida had learned to stay away from the demon bird early on, when she had accidentally slipped in a pile of owl pellets and bumped into him first year. She'd been chased out of the owlery, Drago pecking at her head, Jack and Hiccup hot on her tail.

Jack scratched Drago's feathers for a few minutes, whispering sweet nothings, which were no doubt more for her to be annoyed by than they were for the monster bird. She rolled her eyes, allowing the motion to roll through her whole body, turning her around with a loud groan. She walked out to the wall, looking over the school. Lights were turning on in windows that reflected in the lake like stars. In one of those windows was a victory party in the Gryffindor common rooms which she was missing. Whatever. Rapunzel would make her buttercake for breakfast in celebration, just like she always did.

Jack came up behind her with his wand out and a small seed dish in his hand.

" _Reform ciphum_ ," he said, and the dish blurred, growing into a thick mug full of a steaming dark liquid that smelled pumpkin spice. He handed it to Merida. "Here, this'll warm you up. I know, you hate the cold, but this is one of the better places I've found that's reliably quiet."

She took the drink, overly conscious of not touching his fingers in the process. The mug warmed her cold hands, and after taking a sip she found it warming her all the way through. Amazing. It seemed like such a simple trick, but she knew if she tried it in her room later she'd mess up a dozen times before getting it only half right.

Jack leaned his forearms on the stone rampart, lacing his long, boney fingers together and letting the biting breeze blow through his white hair. Merida looked at the line of his shoulders and swallowed before stepping forward to lean over the wall as well, careful not to drop the mug to the ground a few hundred feet below them. She looked at the side of his face, his square jaw and sharp nose, trying to read his expression and waiting quietly for him to speak first.

"You know my uncle, North?" he asked, looking out at the lake and the Forbidden Forest.

"Aye."

"Well, he's not my uncle. Although he might as well be my father, since he raised me and he's the only family I've got, really. But you knew that. What you don't know is that my real father is still alive."

Merida's eyebrows shot up. Jack turned his face just slightly to look at her out of the corner of his eye, a small, bone-chilling smirk on his face.

"It's true," he continued. "He lives in Siberia, too, just like me and North. With my little sister, Flenna."

Merida felt all the air go out of her. "Your…?"

"Sister, yep. The one that I said died when I was ten? I lied. She's not dead. Although, if you asked anyone around here, they might say she would be better off dead."

Merida had only heard Jack talk about his little sister a few times in the years that she had known him, and when he had it was always reverently. He obviously cared very deeply for her, and missed her greatly. But now he was speaking in a callous voice, a cold voice that Merida didn't understand and didn't like.

"I hadn't seen her since her accident that winter when I was ten, but the summer before fifth year my dad showed up with her. I was…" He chuckled, but it was hollow. "Surprised, among other things."

"Is happy…not one of those things?" she asked hesitantly.

"Tsk. Well, I want to see Flenna every time. I always want to see her, and I never knew my dad as a kid, so I can't say I'm unhappy seeing him, either. I guess you could say I'm pissed off at the whole situation rather than them."

"Do you see them often?"

"Not as often as I'd like. My dad's brought Flenna around a few times now, although it's only ever for a few minutes. It gets harder every time." He paused, and for a second she heard the warmth seep back into his voice. It was gone when he spoke again, "They come to say what they need to say and then they leave."

She frowned. "Well, can't you go visit them? What's wrong with that? Your dad can't keep Flenna from you."

"I can't ever go visit. They're…I'm not a pure-blood."

"What? You're not?"

He shook his head.

"But you said both your parents had magic."

"They did. But my dad's not a wizard. He's not even human." He turned to look at her finally, his face stoic. He was waiting for a reaction from her.

She didn't have one, except for her eyebrows to pull together slightly. "Not…human? What do you mean? Then what is he?"

Jack unlaced his hands and held them out like a small shrug. "Well, he's one of the  _Ten'Morozynn Bol'shoy Chelovek_ , of course, what else? Which is just a bunch of fancy Russian for  _Frost Giant_."

Frost Giant.

Jack was half-giant.

She looked at him again, as though seeing all of him for the first time that night. He wasn't any taller than he had been a few minutes ago. He was still thin and wirey with square hands and pale skin and a pixie looking face.

"I know what you're thinking," he said with another chilling smirk. "I don't look like I'm part giant. I look nothing like Professor Hagrid, you're right. The 'giant' is more of a descriptive term than their actual species. They're not really anything like the other giants in the magic world. They stick to the high Siberian forests and rarely leave the tundra and they look different. In fact, you saw them—my dad and Flenna—a few weeks ago when you saw me outside the Forbidden Forest. That was them."

The scene in the snow flashed through Merida's mind so fast it was almost painful. Jack standing with his back to her, the flurry of snow and wind, and the tall, looming shadows appearing from the dark trees. The smaller one reaching out a hand to Jack.

Flenna. Flenna was one of those Ten'Morzey…one of those Frost Giants. But she  _looked_  like one, and Jack…

"But," she started, not sure where she was going, "Flenna is…she's not like…" Crivens, she didn't know how to speak to him right now. She felt like she should be more sensitive. What language was she supposed to use to talk to someone who was _this_ sort of half-blood? What was offensive and what was appropriate? Merida had always sucked at being sensitive, and she often had to suffer a guilty conscience because of it. He'd see right through her bad acting, too. Crivens.

Jack jumped in before she had to say any more. "Flenna's exactly like me. Just  _more_. She used to look like a girl, before that accident almost seven years ago. She wasn't the one who died though— _I_ almost did. She pulled me out of the frozen lake with magic, but she was too young—she was barely five years old. So, her instincts kicked in and she used giant magic. It woke up her giant blood, I guess. Before that she wasn't even showing any symptoms, not like I had, so we thought she would be fine. Normal. After she got me home to North that day, she left. A five-year-old girl walked into the Siberian winter night, and North didn't even try to stop her. He said that she'd know where to go." Again, Merida thought she heard a bit of emotion sneak into his voice, but he turned away from her, out toward the Forbidden Forest, which was only a blanket of black on the ground now that the sun was gone. He spoke without looking back at her, his voice level again, "I didn't see her again until last summer when she showed up with my dad."

Merida chewed her cheek for a minute, twisting the forgotten mug in her hands, before she had to ask, "What sort of symptoms?"

Jack turned back to her, and she found her heart stopping when she met his icy blue eyes. She held her breath when he reached over, but all he did was take hold of the top of the mug in her hands. She looked down at it in confusion, only to see tiny flakes of ice creeping down the inside of the mug. It reached the liquid, which clouded over as it cooled and then froze completely, a layer of frost dusting the top of the hot chocolate. Jack removed his hand and Merida stared into the cup before tipping it upside down to verify that it was frozen solid.

"There's that, among other things," Jack said dryly.

Merida looked back up at him in awe. She recognized the trick—he'd done it to her plenty of times as a first and second year just to mess with her, but she'd always assumed his wand was involved somehow. Never had she thought the magic would just come from his fingertips.

But this cute little trick couldn't be the only 'symptom'. This wasn't the sort of thing that the headmistress, the nurse, and the head of Gryffindor house stood around whispering about.

She wanted to ask what the other symptoms were, but a flash image of Flenna, tall and shadowy, formless and inhuman entered her mind. Then his words,  _"But if you asked anyone, they might say she'd be better off dead."_ She was afraid to know.

Instead she said, "Elsa Arendell. Is she a half-blood, too?"

"No, she's not, but she does have Frost Giant blood in her. Her grandmother was a half-blood, but none of them showed any Frost Giant tendencies until Elsa. The whole family panicked about it, which is understandable. It's not every day your kid causes a blizzard in the dining room that almost kills your other kid, and they weren't exactly eager to publicize it. You know that type of pure-blood family. Elsa suppressed it all for the sake of the family, but over the years it got worse because of her stress and anxiety. No one thinks it when they look at her, but she's a really nervous person. That's why Professor McGonagall and Professor Tallen paired us up at the end of fourth year. They thought I'd be a good influence. I wasn't really, but it was nice to have each other. Really nice."

He stopped talking, just as another gust of wind whirled around the tower and tore through their robes. The crimson quidditch uniform was decent against most weather, but it didn't stop a shiver from going down Merida's spine. Setting the frozen mug down she put her arms around herself. She was glad her hair was still mostly in a ponytail, otherwise it would have been an even worse mess, completely obscuring her view of Jack and everything around them. Jack didn't seem to be bothered by the weather at all. He'd always been resilient to the cold, but now she was beginning to see that it wasn't just boyish durability.

"So," she said after a moment, wondering if she was disturbing some memory of Elsa running through his head. She wasn't sure how she felt about that. She had thought they were dating until recently, so it shouldn't have been weird, but then again, it had only been a couple hours since he had kissed her in the courtyard. Now she was listening to this impossible conversation. She didn't know what was weird or normal anymore. "Professor Longbottom and Toothiana said you were…getting worse?"

He glanced back at her, then shrugged. "Yep."

"What, but how? Why? Will you become like…"

"Flenna? I could." He dropped his head and ran a hand through it, but it was already too far-gone from the wind to be fixed. "There are specific reasons my giant blood is getting stronger. There's this…I wouldn't call him a man, he's a Frost Giant, but he has sort of discovered I exist. Frost Giants, they're a small community, and they're not exactly friendly. Living with North, I wasn't bothered for a long time, supposedly because my father was keeping us hidden, at least that's what my mother used to think. But this one giant, Pitch, he's recently found out I exist and he doesn't like a Frost Giant child living in the wizarding world. My dad and Flenna showed up the first time to warn me he might come after me, and now they keep tabs on me and let me know what's going on. But Pitch has been pulling at me, and lately I can feel him moving south out of Siberia. He's very strong and it makes things…" He looked down at the palms of his hands before balling them into fists and folding them under his arms. "Hard."

He turned back to her with the same cold eyes, his voice raised to an almost chipper level. He said, "So, now you know. More fuel for your fires in teasing me."

She stared back at him, unblinking. Then she stepped forward, laying all her weight into him in a solid shove. He stumbled back a few steps against the wall, completely caught off guard, his calm expression immediately turned to shock.

"What the bloody hell, Dunbroch?" he said.

"You stupid idiot! I hate the way you're talking!"

"Hate the way…" His face twisted into a scowl. It was a familiar expression to her, and she much preferred it to the cold one he had been wearing all night. He pushed himself away from the wall to stalk towards her, stopping when he could look down at her from only a few inches away. "Here I am, pouring my soul out to you, and what's the thanks I get? You going all Scottish on me!"

She put both hands to his chest and shoved again, but this time he was prepared for it and wasn't moved as far or as easily.

"Soul? What soul?" she bit back. "You're standing around talking like a bloody freaking statue about your family and your life! I hate it, and I don't for a second believe you don't care about all of this! What's the tough guy act for? What's all the secrecy for?"

"What's it  _for_? Oh, so you think I should just go around, advertising to the whole school that I'm a half-blooded giant in Slytherin house? Oh, yeah,  _brilliant_ idea, Mer, that won't make me the local pariah, no siree!"

"I don't give a rat's scaffy tail about the whole school! Aren't I your friend? Isn't Hiccup your best mate?"

"Hiccup also happens to be obsessive about any and all magical creatures. Trust me to find and befriend the one kid who'd jump at the idea of me being a half-blood, but that's exactly why I'm not telling him! I'm not one of his  _pets_  or  _dragon projects_."

"Hiccup wouldn't treat you like that! He adores Hagrid, he wouldn't ever—"

"Don't even talk to me about Hiccup right now!" he spat with surprising vehemence. "We all know what a saint you think he is. He can't do any wrong, not  _your_  Hiccup."

Her face turned hot so fast she might have been glowing red. She shoved him again with an angry huff, but he grabbed her wrists and held them away. She tried to wrestle free, but he was stronger than he looked, stronger than she remembered him being. That only fueled her anger, so she kicked him in the shin and he grunted in annoyance. Her brief satisfaction was chased out when she looked up to see his narrowed eyes. Her heart sank. Before she knew it her arms were pinned to her side and she was all but being carried to the wall. She got in his way by sticking a foot between his, knocking him off balance and sending them both crashing into the stone wall. Thankfully, the wall was too high for them to tumble over the edge. They both groaned, and the birds behind them rustled their wings and hooted restlessly at their tussling.

Taking advantage of his surprise, Merida yanked her wrists free and grabbed him by the front of the robe, spinning around so she was the one who had him pinned.

"You bloody idiot!" she growled in his face. " _You're_  the one I'm worried about! Not that you deserve it, you git, after being such a prick to me and avoiding me and lying to me and our friends! You think any of us would treat you different? You think any of us wouldn't want to help or be your friend? You think I'm not going to be just as frustrated as I have been the last few weeks, wondering what's wrong with you and worrying myself sick? Of course not, you scaffy loon!"

They watched each other for a second, her daring him silently to fight back. She could go all night—this was nothing compared to her arguments with her mother. But she didn't have to. Already his glower was relaxing. She jumped a little when she felt his fingers curl around her arm lightly.

"You almost cried over me earlier," he said.

"What?" She blinked at his sudden change in tone. It was softer, smoother, the voice she was used to. He shifted his weight so he could stand up straight, and she had to tilt her head further back to look up at him. There wasn't much light this high up outside the castle, but there was enough to glint off his blue eyes when they flicked up at her under his eyelashes. There was enough to see the upward curl of his lips. Her heart beat harder. "I wasn't crying," she said.

"You were almost crying."

Her cheeks were warming up again. "I was not." She loosened her grip on his robe and started to step back, but his hand slid up to the heel of her palm, keeping her from backing up.

"Don't get all defensive, I'm not making fun of you," he said.

"You?  _Not_  making fun of me? Since when?" she answered, hoping she sounded more annoyed than nervous. Nervous. Next to Jack Frost. Crivens.

If he noticed the waver in her voice, he didn't choose to tease her for it. "You were worried about me. And I was..." He looked down at her hand momentarily, at her fingers pink from the cold, not shielded at all by her fingerless quidditch gloves. She didn't follow his gaze. Somehow she had found her eyes glued to his face, to his eyebrows which drew together slightly and the sincere but tired smile he gave her. "I was really happy that you were so worried."

She remembered earlier that day. It felt like ages ago instead of hours, and her quidditch victory seemed like even further away. But she would probably never be able to forget the look on his face when she had told him what she had heard outside the infirmary, never be able to forget how tightly he had held her, how his fingers had twisted up in the fabric of her robe, how he hadn't let her go. She had never felt so needed as she had in that moment. Her heart hurt. He had been carrying all of his problems by himself with no one to help shoulder the burden. He had desperately needed someone, and she was glad she had been there.

Before this last month, she wouldn't have ever thought there would be a need to worry about Jack. Jack, who was always confident and cool. Jack, who was a laugh and a half to brighten any dull day. Jack, who was admired and handsome and supposedly dating one of the prettiest girls in school. He was also Jack, the half-blood. Jack, the orphan. Jack, the one afraid to tell his secrets.

Now he'd told her. He hadn't even told Hiccup any of this, but when she'd finally cornered him, he had told her everything. She wanted to hug him again, as if she could somehow crush the sadness out of him. If she did, would he hold her just as tight as he had before?

Feeling her chest full of compassion for this stupid friend of hers, she tightened her fist on his robe again. His fingers curled around her wrist, his thumb on the back of her hand. She leaned forward ever so slightly, hoping he could hear the sincerity of her words: "Anytime you need it, Frost."

The corner of his lips twitched. "You'll worry anytime?"

"If you need me to, yeah." She was completely serious, and if she was going to be the only one for now, then she'd do it well. "Or if you need someone to talk to, or just sit with, I can do that, too. I'll be there if you let me."

A second passed, then another, and she wondered if she had said something strange. Even the owls had quieted down, barely making any noise inside the owlery behind them. Then Jack's robe rustled as he leaned forward, his forehead nearly bumping hers.

"Careful what you say, Dunbroch," he said, his voice suddenly low and playful. "You'll get yourself kissed again."

She almost couldn't swallow. She might choke. Trust her to do something that stupid. She forced it down, not daring to look away from his face in case something happened. What, she didn't know. Her heartbeat might have been pounding too hard in her ears for it to be normal, and in the back of her mind she heard herself throwing Scottish swears at the entire situation and telling her to run away. But all that came out was the thoughtless, breathless question, "Why did you kiss me?"

And the most devilish smile she had ever seen him wear slowly slid across his face, his eyes never leaving hers. "Because I wanted to."

The wind had been quiet for a while, but it chose that moment to blow at her back, causing the stray curls that had fallen from her ponytail to drift forward, grazing against Jack's cheek and jaw. And then, without having any clue which of them had moved first, she found herself with her eyes closed, kissing him again.

The kiss was vastly different from the first one, largely in that she knew what was happening this time and was still allowing it to happen. She also quickly remembered that she was a novice at this and had absolutely no idea what she was doing, and was still greatly hesitant about  _who_  she was doing it to. So once it became apparent that this kiss was not going to be the short little peck the first had been, she found herself tense up, nervous and unsure. He was much more confident than she was. The most she had dared move was to unball her fists and lay her hands flat against his chest. Meanwhile, his hand had slid from her wrist and down her arm until it had found a spot against her lower back, while the other hand was on her neck, his thumb resting on her jaw.

It was a few seconds before Merida realized nothing was scary about this. His hands weren't roaming, he was kissing her slowly, and she liked the feel of his lips against hers. She liked it like crazy. She could keep up with this. And she didn't even bother feeling the competitive spirit that she usually did when Jack was better at something than her. In fact, she'd never been so willing to let him take the lead. She felt warm leaning against his lean frame, his arms steady around her.

They pulled apart after a few minutes, which felt more like hours, and Merida's heart had been beating so fast it probably had taken a few days off her life at least. Taking a moment to catch her breath she found herself looking him in the eyes again. He was a bit breathless, too, which made her chest swell.

"Uh-oh," he whispered with a breathy smile, "Did we just ruin our friendship?"

She gave a small snort, then slid her hands up his chest and around his neck, tilting her chin towards him again. She thought she saw his grin widening just before she closed her eyes.

Then there was a gravelly clearing of the throat so loud that they both jumped, arms tightening around each other in alarm as a bright light blinded them. Merida squinted until her eyes adjusted, and her heart completely stopped in her chest when she saw the outline of Death itself.

Then she realized it was just Filch, the castle caretaker.

The old man was bent over and boney, his wrinkled skin stretched across a thin frame with long white, stringy hair falling over his shoulders. He carried a lantern in his crooked fingers, which illuminated his gray-toothed scowl. He was a horrifying person to behold, and in this low lighting on top of a tower in the dark, he looked nothing short of traumatizing.

"I shoulda known it was you, Frost," Filch snarled. His eyes flicked to Merida, and although she held the brief hope that he wouldn't recognize her, there was no such luck. Surely her bright red and gold robe didn't help. He said, "Euh, and Dunbroch. Been a while since I busted you two. Didn't expect it to be like _this_."

Merida was going to die. Never in her sixteen years of life did she think she'd be caught kissing Jack Frost, and the fact that it was by Filch of all people only made it a thousand times worse. She would have ripped herself away from Jack if she hadn't been too busy moving her silent mouth, completely lost at what to say.

Jack, of course, wasn't dumbstruck. He straightened up, letting go of her and taking her hand. "Filchy, it's been a while. You here to take care of the owls? We'll just get out of that pretty hair of yours." Jack moved forward, pulling a stiff Merida behind him.

"Think you're sneaking off so easily?" Filch said as they neared him. "This time I'll have the headmistress take your heads off for sure."

"Oh?" Jack tested, "What for? Is the owlery off limits to students? Or is it past curfew?"

Filch's scowl grew even more ugly and he ground out reluctantly, "No."

"Well, then, we'll be off," Jack said with a smile, passing Filch for the stairs. Merida avoided his judging gaze, her face burning. Jack called, "No worries, Filchy, I'll make sure this here wee lass heads straight back to her common room so she'll keep out of trouble! That's the job of a Prefect, after all."

They started down the stone stairs, and Merida heard Filch muttering and spitting behind them, "A  _Prefect_ , that Professor Tallen must have mud for brains…there's always a pair, think they're too good for the rules, well, they ought to be kicked out as soon as they come, that's wha I say…nothing but little brats…first that Potter and Black boy, then them Weasley boys, Merlin's beard, couldn't stand them…then there was that Potter  _and_  Weasley…"

They left Filch behind, listing off other troublemakers who had walked his halls, no doubt all the way down until he reached Jack and Merida themselves.

They only passed a few students on the way to the Gryffindor common room, but it didn't stop Merida from panicking every time, wondering if they knew her, wondering if they were questioning why Jack Frost was holding her hand and not some other, prettier girl with long blonde hair who was also from Slytherin house. Merida didn't dare look at Jack the whole way, afraid her face would be as scarlet as her robes, but she didn't yank her hand away either, which also left her wondering to herself what was going on.

They stopped just short of her dorm room door, and Merida tried not to notice the Fat Lady eyeing them behind her lacey fan.

Merida tucked a curl behind her ear, looking at the ground. Ok, what did she say in this situation? What even  _was_  this situation? Her mind was reeling wildly but it wasn't coming up with any ideas, and she was about to drop his hand and make a run for it when he said her name.

She looked up at him and he smiled at her gently.

"Thank you for listening," he said, "and thank you for worrying."

Their was a twinkle of amusement in his eye, but he didn't say anything else. Was he going to try and kiss her again before leaving? She felt anxious about that, especially with all of the portraits lining the hall, watching. Already she could see a painting of a few girls in white dresses whispering to each other, before one of them ran out of the frame and appeared in the Fat Lady's painting to whisper in her ear.

But Jack didn't kiss her. He squeezed her hand for a second, then let it go and turned away. She wasn't sure if she was relieved or disappointed.

* * *

She dreamed she was walking through the snow. She wasn't sure where she was, but it didn't bother her. The snow was only to her ankles, and the crunch was pleasant. It wasn't cold, either. In fact, she was only in a long sleeved shirt, without any jacket or scarf. So she just kept walking, listening to the happy crunch, thinking that it looked very beautiful. It was a little while before she looked up and saw the trees.

She'd never seen trees like this. They were some sort of fir tree, but they were the tallest kind she had ever seen, looming over her at least a hundred feet. They were spread pretty thin, with a tree once every twenty yards, but the wide, dark branches covered the ground in shadows. She walked between the trunks, looking up in awe, her footsteps not hurried in any way.

When she turned around again she saw someone ahead of her, their back to her. She squinted for a second before she recognized the lanky figure and white hair. She smiled, raising a hand and calling out to him. He turned around and looked at her. Just looked. There was no expression on his face. She was about to call out to him again, but then she saw something shift behind him, something between the shadows of the trees. It was thick and black and roiling. It quickly filled the forest, the tree trunks disappearing into its cloud of blackness. With it came a feeling of dread, and Merida's heart sped up exponentially. She looked at Jack, who was right in the blackness' way.

She called out to him to move, to get out of the way, to come towards her. He didn't respond. Did he hear her? Was he ignoring her? The blackness was getting too close. She ran forward, feeling her pockets for her wand but not finding it. She wasn't going to make it. She watched in horror as Jack's pale person, standing stone still with a blank face, was swallowed up completely by the black.

Merida woke with a jolt, her heart still racing, staring up at the dark shadows of her canopy bed. She looked around, seeing that the other girls in her dorm were still sound asleep in their beds. It was dark out the windows, and Merida didn't have the slightest idea what time it was. She put a hand to her head, pushing back her hair from her hot skin.

Thinking back on it, there was nothing particularly frightening about her dream, except for the feeling she'd had as she watched the black cloud envelope everything, heading straight for Jack.

She shook her head, and rolled over. On the windowsill beside her bed was a glass bowl where she had been keeping the golden Treasure Flower that Jack had given her a week ago. It was now the girliest thing she owned, and almost looked silly sitting high above her messy pile of clothes and books. She calmed herself as she watched it glow dimly in its glass home, the vines slowly curling and twisting carelessly.


	4. Chapter 4

Everything was different. The weather kept cooling down. Sweaters and scarves became common, adding more color to the dark uniforms of the students. The Great Hall was decorated with pumpkins and leaves for the coming Halloween. Slytherin lost its next match against Ravenclaw, and Gryffindor was up against Hufflepuff in another week. Most notably what was different was that nothing much was different. Which only made the difference in Merida that much more obvious.

Like how she spilt pumpkin juice in her lap when Jack walked up behind her and Rapunzel. Or how she couldn't make eye contact with him, whether he was standing two feet away or across the Great Hall, yet she kept checking to see if he was looking in her direction. Or how she literally ran away when she heard Jack's laughter coming down the hall, or knocked her inkwell over onto her parchment when he passed by in class and patted her on the head.

Mostly, it just pissed her off. She was annoyed that it was cold outside, she was annoyed that there wasn't enough time to practice quidditch before she faced off with Astrid, and she was annoyed that Jack was basically acting completely normal after he had told her about his secret life and  _definitely and totally kissed her on top of the owlery while Filch watched._

It had been three days. What the bloody hell, why wasn't he acting different? Shouldn't  _something_  be different after something like that? Merida had no idea what or how things should have changed, and she wasn't exactly sure what she wanted his reaction to be or if she wanted one at all, but she just knew it was ticking her off that there didn't seem to be anything different coming from him.

Why? Were they pretending it hadn't happened? Was there some meaning to that kiss that meant it was platonic or something that she should be understanding but wasn't? She didn't understand anything. She sucked at this. This was why the boy she had loved for years was now dating someone else, and she was still an awkward idiot in the background, getting kissed by his best friend and being confused by it.

The worst was that the changes in Merida seemed to be compulsive. The panicking and fidgeting with her hair all happened before she knew it. She'd barely had control of her life before this, and now she felt like it was quickly slipping out of her grasp for good. Crivens.

It came to a horrifying climax on the fourth morning, when Merida somehow found herself half awake at Rapunzel's breakfast table. For once, all of their friends were at breakfast at the same time. Jack sat across from her, next to Hiccup. Rapunzel and Astrid sat to her right. Merida tugged on her wrinkled sweater, inwardly swore at herself, then tugged again anyway, listening to the conversation between the others about classes and dragons. The subject turned to Hufflepuffs and Gryffindors, keepers and chasers. That finally woke her up completely, and she found herself in the familiar competitive banter she always did with Astrid and the others, until Jack said with a laugh, "What, a wee lass like Merida? Not if those crazy curls and cute freckles have anything to say about it." And he leaned across the table to pull on her hair.

And then it happened. She went so red in the face she was certain there was no blood left anywhere else in her body. And she knew by the look on everyone's faces that it was oh so painfully obvious.

Jack's joking smile froze in place. Hiccup's eyebrows went up, then his eyes flicked to Jack and back to Merida. Astrid's chewing on a muffin slowed down and Rapunzel's lips parted in a small 'O'.

Hiccup cleared his throat after a second of silence, "You, uh, ok there, Mer?"

She didn't even wait for him to finish his sentence before standing, avoiding the eyes of everyone at the table. "I forgot, there's a thing, I need to…" And she walked away as quickly as she could without drawing even more attention from anyone in the Great Hall.

The students and sounds around her were nothing but a blur as she ran from her embarrassment, and it almost drowned out the footsteps running after her as well.

It must be Jack. Of course he'd be running after her, he probably couldn't catch the hint that she would definitely not want to talk to him right now. Squeezing her eyes closed, she prepared herself for him to call out to her, to grab her shoulder, to laugh.

She jumped when the voice wasn't his. She spun around to see Rapunzel hurrying after her. Of course it was Rapunzel. Why had she expected Jack? Dang it, she didn't want to talk to Rapunzel, either, but there would be no shaking Rapunzel off once she was determined to do something, and by the look on her face, that was the case.

"Merida," Rapunzel said, keeping up with Merida's quick pace, "What's going on?"

"What do you mean, what's going on?"

"Don't play dumb, Merida," Rapunzel chided, "You've been acting weird about Jack for weeks, and the last couple days you've been completely on edge when he's around, and awkward and distracted all the rest of the time! I was happy to let it play out because I figured you'd tell me when you were ready, and you were sort of adorable. But really, Merida! What's happened?"

Well, the exact image of "what happened" popped into Merida's mind and made her pink cheeks darken again. There was no way she could put that into  _actual words out loud_ to say to Rapunzel. She'd probably die before even getting it all out. No, she refused to die, because if she died then Professor McGonagall would have to show up, and Professor Longbottom, and everyone in the school, and Jack and Hiccup, and they'd all say, "Why'd she die?" and then  _everyone would know why and she wasn't letting that happen._

Wait. What was she thinking?

She stopped walking like she had hit an invisible wall, her hair bouncing over her shoulders. Rapunzel went a few steps past before skidding to a halt and turning to look at her.

She'd been thinking about being embarrassed about kisses and being angry at Jack for acting like nothing had happened and wondering why she wanted him around when it just made her anxious. She'd only been thinking about herself, and she'd forgotten about the other things that Jack had told her on the owlery that night—his father, his sister, his bloodline, his troubles. The reasons for the serious looks on his face and his trips to the infirmary. He might have kissed her and not said why, but was _she_ the one who was acting indifferent to his pain?

"Merida?" Rapunzel said quietly. "What's wrong?"

Merida shook her head, brushing off the gloom that had settled over her all of a sudden. How did she answer her friend's question? She wanted to tell Rapunzel everything Jack had told her, but those words caught in her throat. They weren't her words to tell. Jack didn't want people to know, and she couldn't tell his secret without him. But with another glance at Rapunzel she knew she couldn't keep  _everything_  a secret.

Using every ounce of fight power she had, Merida started, "I, alright, we, the other day after my match, Jack and I talked. And I  _was_  right, I'll have you know. He _was_ hiding something, and I finally got it out of him! He was…having trouble with some...things. It's nothing to worry about, so don't ask him about it! He'll tell you if he wants to, so…"

"Oh. Poor Jack, I hope he's alright," Rapunzel said sympathetically, but then raised an eyebrow. "But that's not all, is it?"

Merida shifted her weight from foot to foot, feeling like Rapunzel's eyes were huge, piercing spotlights directed on her. "Ah, no, we uh, we also, uh, might've, uh, kissed a bit—"

"You WHAT?"

Merida slapped a hand over Rapunzel's gaping mouth, glancing quickly around the hall. There were a couple students wandering through to their morning classes, and one of them looked at them strangely as Merida dragged Rapunzel around the corner to a quieter hall. She stopped at the bottom of a vacant staircase and waited for the small heart attack to pass before she removed her hand from Rapunzel's mouth. She cringed at the onslaught of exclamations.

"You what, did you say you  _kissed_?" Rapunzel demanded, barely keeping her voice down. "You, _you_ , Merida Dunbroch, you kissed Jack Frost?"

"Well, I mean, he kissed me the first time but I dun—"

"The  _first_  time? He kissed you the first time, and then you kissed  _more_  times? How long has this been going on? Does Elsa know? Does  _Hiccup_  know—"

"No, no one else knows! So keep your voice down—"

Rapunzel gasped loudly, then crossed her arms in a flurry of yellow hair and billowy sleeves. On Rapunzel's shoulder, hidden beneath her hair, Merida spotted Pascal, who seemed to be shaking his head at her as well. "Merida Dunbroch," Rapunzel said in a scolding tone, "I cannot believe you would kiss a boy with a girlfriend, a very nice girlfriend—"

"He doesn't have a girlfriend, alright!" Merida glanced around worriedly, terrified that any second someone would come around the corner and overhear this entire conversation. "He's not dating Elsa, ok?"

"He's not? What happened? Did they break up?"

"No, they were never dating in the first place."

"What? But that doesn't make any sense. Everyone thought they were."

"I know, I thought so, too. They're just friends, or something, apparently. Don't ask me."

Rapunzel stopped, and Merida swore she could see the wheels turning in her head. Merida took a seat on one of the bottoms steps, leaning against the stone banister, feeling fidgety and embarrassed and confused and flushed. She wanted to hide in her room and run away all at once. She settled for pulling at a loose thread on her skirt until the tear got worse. Every once in a while she pressed a fist to her forehead, internally freaking out.

She watched Rapunzel's face slowly brighten. "Jack kissed you," she said.

"Mm-hm," Merida responded.

"Did you kiss him back?"

"Ummmm…"

"Oh my gosh, this is incredible," Rapunzel squeaked, her hands fluttering up to her chin in an adorable display of pleasure. "This explains so much!"

"Explains  _what_?"

"Well, for one, it explains why you've been acting so weird around him." She flounced down next to Merida, her radiant smile making Merida shrink back. "So, do you like him?"

"What?" Merida blushed again. Geeze, wasn't she red enough already? Why couldn't her face calm down? "I don—I don't  _like_  him!"

"Ok, but you don't  _not_  like him, right?"

"I don't hate him."

"Oh, come on!"

Merida spluttered, not sure of anything at the moment. "I mean, I dunno, he's my friend, I haven't—"

"Your friend that you  _kissed_ ," Rapunzel emphasized. "Oh my gosh, do you think this means he likes you?"

"Ha, I doubt it." Still with the red face, still with the knots in her stomach.

"Why? What if he's always liked you?"

"No."

"What if you've just never noticed because you liked Hiccup?"

"Stop it."

"What if you're, like, special so he never did anything about it?"

"You're getting carried away."

"What if he decides not to hold back anymore and there's a love triangle and Hiccup realizes that he actually—"

" _Punzie_."

Rapunzel checked herself. "Ah, sorry." She settled beside Merida, looking a little guilty. "I didn't mean to say that about Hiccup."

Merida shook her head but didn't say anything. She thought back to a few minutes ago, of Jack and Hiccup sitting next to each other, looking at her from across the table. Hiccup seeing her blush was just as bad as Jack seeing her blush. It was confusing. Her heart hurt a little. But she didn't have the right to be pining over Hiccup right now. Not while her mind was also occupied by kisses from another boy. And it was certainly more occupied than she would like to admit.

"I don't know that he likes me," Merida said offhandedly, "Maybe he's just become a huge flirt recently."

"Recently? You mean like what he said back there? Jack's  _always_  been like that. You've just never really noticed it before."

"What? Can't be. How?"

Rapunzel shrugged. "I don't know. He was your friend, so you just brushed it off. I mean, I do, too, when he says stuff like that to me, but it's obviously been affecting you lately."

Oh, geez. More than ever Merida wished she wasn't such an open book when it came to her emotions. What an idiot she probably looked like with a red face to match her hair and house colors every time he said anything. Soon she'd be able to blend into the Gryffindor common room she'd be so scarlet. No one would be able to find her.

She groaned, putting her face in her hands. "I'm so  _stupid_."

"No, Merida, you're not stupid," Rapunzel cooed, putting an arm around her.

"Yes, I am," Merida said, voice muffled by her hands. "It's not like  _he's_  acting any different. It was probably nothing to him; he probably kisses girls all the time. He was just stressed and needed someone and I happened to be there. And now I'm going around, acting like a complete git every time I see him."

"Say what you will about Jack being a flirt, but he definitely doesn't go around kissing girls for no reason, and you know that. You said he was going through some stuff, right? Maybe he _did_ need someone. Maybe he was glad it was _you_ who was there."

Merida stayed in her hands, her hair falling around her, Rapunzel's comforting arm around her. She wondered if Jack ever received comfort like this when he needed it.

* * *

Later that day, she spotted Jack laying outside under a tree. It was fairly sunny, and there were a few students in hats and sweaters, happily soaking up the decent weather as long as they could. Merida was annoyed to be standing outside, and hadn't been intending to, so she was unprepared without any better clothes. Still. She couldn't go back now. She'd told herself that the next time she saw Jack she wouldn't run away. She just wished she had seen him inside, somewhere safe from the bitter wind.

She paced back and forth for far too long, trying to psyche herself into walking over to him. It took longer than it probably would have for a normal person, but Merida was reminded by her mother often that she wasn't normal. With a final angry grunt that startled a seventh year couple, she stalked across the grass to where Jack lay under a tree.

He didn't have a scarf or hat, yet he lounged like it was any summery day. He opened his eyes when he heard her approaching and she avoided looking at him while she sat on the dry grass next to him. She purposefully looked across the lawn and over the lake, trying not to be uncomfortable with the weight of his stare on her back.

After a second she said stiffly, "Nice weather we're having, isn't it?" He immediately burst out laughing, and she whirled around to glare at him. "What're you laughing at?"

"That's just the last thing I expected you to say, is all," he said. "Nice weather, seriously?"

"Shut your gammy face. I'm allowed to comment on the weather."

"Sure you are. I just didn't think this was your type of weather. Usually it's something like, 'Ah hate this scaffy sniffing cold, wah yoo dooin ou heer, yoo ideeotic loony'?"

A bit of wind blew by, and Merida tried not to shiver. "I don't hate it."

"Right," Jack said with a knowing smirk. "What are you really doing out here?"

She shrugged, looking away from him again. "What, I can't come hang out with my friend just because I feel like it?"

"Of course you can. Except that you're mad at me, right?"

She surprised herself when she snapped, "Of course I'm mad at you!"

"Uh-huh, I thought so."

She blinked a few times, feeling the irritation inside of her and not being entirely sure where it had come from. She'd been distracted by her embarrassment and hadn't realized how angry she was until this moment. Evidently he'd noticed. She was an open book, as always, and Jack was turning into an avid reader.

She let out a puff of air and threw her hands up before dropping them in her lap. "Fine, yes, I'm mad at you! Sorry! I'm probably supposed to move on and forget about it like you have, but I'm not used to being kissed, alright? So ignore my idiotic behavior and leave me to grow up while you go about your Prefect duties like you do." She stopped talking, stubbornly looking out at the lake, having no clue what to do about the uncomfortable squirming in her stomach.

After a second he said incredulously, "What?"

His tone wasn't what she was expecting, and although she didn't want to, she turned to look at him. "What?" she repeated.

" _That's_  why you're mad? I thought it was because—wait, do you think that I'm acting  _indifferent_?"

"Well, yeah. Aren't you?" She jumped when he abruptly sat up, suddenly so much closer to her.

"No, you stupid…I mean, alright, I am acting casual about it, but I was only trying to be considerate. I thought you'd prefer that, rather than me, I dunno, suddenly holding your hand in front of everyone. I mean, you wouldn't want that."

She was blushing now. Fantastic. "Definitely not! But you didn't have to pretend like nothing happened! I was confused enough as it was, and then you're going around like it was all in my head, and I was starting to feel like it  _was_  all in my head, like I was the one going mental when  _you're_  the one acting daft! But, you stupid idiot, I said I'd be there if you needed me to be, so even if your brain's turning to mush I'm still keeping my word. Not that you  _deserve_  it, you kiss-and-don't-tell fiend." She turned away from him, huffing in an attempt to hide her nervousness. She was pulling on the loose string from her skirt again. He was quiet. Now what? Could she run away yet? Geez, this was hard. And it used to be that talking to Jack was so easy.

Her heart stopped cold in her chest when she felt him lean forward and rest his head against the side of hers, his face in her hair. Her eyes darted around the grass to see if anyone was watching. No one was, as far as she could tell. She swallowed, feeling the heat on her face and being amazed that she could still possibly be blushing. Maybe her face would break at this rate and her blush would be gone forever. Wouldn't that be nice. Then she wouldn't have to panic so much when Jack did stuff like this.

She couldn't take the tense silence for very long, and said in a bad attempt at joking, "Careful, or you'll get stuck in my hair like the other Slytherins."

"Good," he said back, "I want to get so tangled in your hair you'll never be able to get me out."

What.  _What_.

How did she respond to stuff like this? This was beyond his normal, throw-away flirtations. Why did it feel like her heart was pounding directly in her ears when she felt his breath on her neck? Bloody hell, she was going to kill him.

He lifted his head, and he was so close now his nose almost brushed her cheek. The intensity of his blue gaze made her shiver as it drifted down her face to stop at her lips. For some reason when his lips turned up in a sly smile it was like she was seeing it for the first time. He was so incredibly good looking, it hurt a little bit.

"So, what would you do if I  _don't_  pretend like nothing happened?" he asked, slowly pushing her hair back from her face, his fingers trailing down her neck. "What would you do if I kissed you again?"

Her heartbeat had already spiked, and she felt herself inwardly screaming. Her voice was deceitfully calm. "Is there a chance of that?"

"I'd say there's a very good chance of that."

"Oh. Good."

Then he tilted his chin and kissed her. She forgot to look around the grass again to see if anyone was looking, and kissed him back. The warmth on her face mixed with the chilly air in a way that made her feel awake, and another feeling settled over her that she could only think of as relief. She didn't bother delving into her feelings or thoughts on the situation and instead let his fingertips and his lips swallow them up. She was just getting comfortable with the unfamiliar movements and feeling like she could start contributing more, when he pulled away.

She blinked at him, only to find him looking at the sky. She followed his gaze, seeing a blanket of gray clouds in the distance, slowly inching across the blue sky.

"It's going to snow," he said.

"Snow?" she echoed, not asking how he knew. She got the feeling that there were even more things Jack knew that she didn't than she had previously thought. "Great. Hopefully it doesn't stick. It's not even Halloween yet."

His eyes left the sky and fell on the dark trees of the Forbidden Forest. She hadn't noticed during the kiss, but his hand had moved to take hers. "Sorry, Merida. Winter is coming early this year."

The way he said it made her want to hold his hand tighter. A colder wind blew.


	5. Chapter 5

"Well, well, well," came the familiar drawl of Hiccup's voice, "Fancy meeting you here."

Merida was standing halfway up a ladder deep in the book stacks of the library, precariously balanced on her tiptoes as she leaned out to search the titles. She looked down to see Hiccup grinning up at her, one hand holding a heavy looking book over his shoulder. Her heart steadied after the initial clench in her chest that always occurred when she saw Hiccup.

"Never thought I'd come across you in here by yourself. You lost, little girl?" Hiccup teased.

"Oi. Sometimes I actually study," she said.

"Yeah? In what fantasy world?"

Merida snorted, jumping down from the ladder. "I'm glad you're here. I have no idea how to find these." She handed him the short list of book titles that the librarian had scribbled down for her.

He glanced over it, raising his eyebrows at the titles. "You doing research on giants?"

"Uh," she paused, wanting to snatch the list back. Crivens, she hadn't been thinking. She had lied to the librarian about doing a report in Care for Magical Creatures, but that lie wouldn't fly with Hiccup. He was Hagrid's right hand man, and he graded almost all of the assignments for Hagrid's classes. "Um, well, just an interest. Thought I'd read up on them."

He raised an eyebrow at her.

"What? A girl can't develop an interest in magical creatures from an old friend with whom she used to try catching them?" she said.

He chuckled. "Fair enough. Come on."

She followed him out of the shelves and to a different section, feeling like an idiot as soon as she realized she had been completely in the wrong place. The lighting from the windows was gray and filtered as the sun went down, reflecting off the eight inches of snow outside. Jack's prediction had been right; it had been almost a week and it hadn't stopped snowing yet. The halls seemed overcrowded as everyone was forced to stay inside, and the library had extra students in corners who were avoiding the cold, including Merida.

"Hey, I've been meaning to ask," Hiccup started. She cocked her head at him and he continued, "Is something up with you and Jack?"

She choked, which she quickly turned into a fake cough. "Nothing's up. Not anything. Not with that idiot."

Hiccup chuckled. "That's what he said when I asked. I guess it's just been a while since I've seen you two hanging out together. He's been around a lot lately, but he should watch it if he wants to stay with Elsa. He keeps telling me he doesn't need relationship advice, though. Whatever suits him, I guess." He rolled his eyes, but Merida didn't share his exasperated expression like usual.

Hiccup had asked Jack about them? What did that mean? It probably didn't mean anything. But Jack had said that there was nothing going on? Well, sure, what else would he say? That's what she had just said, wasn't it?

Jack had kept his word the last few days—he wasn't pretending like nothing had happened between them anymore, but he was also being discreet, which she appreciated. Not that she should be surprised. Jack had always been the discreet one, and she'd been the one who couldn't act nonchalant to save her life. So now when he had a couple minutes of free time to talk to their group of friends, she found his eyes on her often, and sometimes accompanied with secret smirks meant only for her. Yesterday he had switched seats in class to sit beside her, leaving Elsa in the back much to the surprise of more than one person, including herself. She had felt like a kid again, snickering along with him until the teacher told them to stop talking. This morning he had passed her on his way into the Great Hall, and she had jumped a little when she felt his cool fingers lightly brush her knuckles. She'd made her way to her seat, annoyed that first thing in the morning she had already been reduced to a mass of hot face and freckles.

The most surprising thing to her was that she was always disappointed when Jack wasn't able to stay for very long. The most she could talk to him was in class—the rest of the time his Prefect pin would flash and he'd have to go off. She hadn't been able to talk to him alone in days. And, admittedly, she was a bit disappointed about not being able to kiss him again.

Rapunzel was loving all of it. She looked like she was going to explode into a fit of giggles and sly eyebrow raises about every five minutes, doubling Merida's embarrassment constantly. Merida had taken solace in believing that no one else really knew there was "something up", and having Hiccup be the one to shatter that felt painful.

What had Hiccup noticed? The secret looks? Her awkward blushes? She searched his face as carefully as possible, but she didn't find any sort of reaction there. No sadness or jealousy or unease. Part of her felt wrong having Hiccup see her act like that about someone other than him, and part of her recognized that it didn't matter what Hiccup saw, he wouldn't know the difference, anyway. And Jack…

Well, she wasn't entirely sure what was really going on. So she supposed that meant it wasn't wrong to call it "nothing".

Her insides were twisting, and she almost didn't notice that Hiccup was talking again, "So, is there a particular reason for the interest in giants?" he asked absently, scanning the shelves.

She tried to come back to the conversation, stopping herself from self-consciously rubbing her arm. "Ah. No particular reason."  _Not because our best friend is half-giant, that's not it._  "Just heard some stuff about Frost Giants recently and wanted to know more."

"Frost Giants?" Hiccup looked back at her. "You're looking for stuff on Frost Giants?"

Merida stared back at him. Uh-oh, had she said too much?

He crumpled the list up and tossed it over his shoulder. "Well, none of _those_  will do you any good!" he announced, turning out of that aisle immediately and heading straight for a different section.

Relieved, Merida followed. "So why aren't those books any good? Those were the ones the librarian gave me."

"Well, they're fine if you're learning about real giants, but Frost Giants aren't part of the actual giant species. They're just large so they're called giants in old folklore. Here we go." He pulled a hefty, black leather bound book from the shelf and weighed it in his hands. "There are a couple others if you want, but this one has the most information. Are you hanging around here to read?"

"Probably."

"Well, come on, then, you can at least sit by me."

She hesitated but then followed him through the stacks to a cozy area with a small table and four chairs. Already there were several books in different languages and diagrams of dragon parts. Hiccup settled down in front of the pile. The seat next to him was open and she moved to take it before stopping. No. She was supposed to be staying away from him. She took the seat diagonal across the table and waited while he flipped through the black book.

"Here it is," he said, " _Schaduws van der Bor_. The Shadows of Van der Bor. Their official Dutch name. The  _Gelu Raphaim_ in Latin,  _Frost Giants_  in English, and I'm not even going to try pronouncing it in Russian because it's impossible. Maybe ask Jack on that one, he's picked up some Russian from his uncle." He passed the open book to her and it was heavy in her hands. "From what I know, they're a recluse bunch that stick to the far, far north. They prefer high altitudes and the cold, but there's not a whole lot known about them. They're not very friendly to wizards and witches, so unfortunately there haven't been very many study opportunities."

"Mmm." And yet Jack had talked to them several times. And Jack's mother…well, she'd had  _some_  sort of contact with the species, more than once, at least. Hiccup would probably freak out if he knew he himself used to skip class with a half-blood of the Frost Giants.

She looked at Hiccup as he bent over his books again, scratching notes about dragon species. A sense of nostalgia and affection washed over her. She was used to this—her flipping pages and looking at pictures while a young and excitable Hiccup read about dangerous magical creatures, saying aloud the parts he thought would interest her. The only differences were his broader shoulders and firmer jaw. From beneath his shaggy hair he glanced up at her, shooting her a smile. She returned it, and they looked back to their own books.

She set the heavy tome down in front of her with a low thud and looked at the pages. At the top of the first page was the section heading  _The Shadows of Van der Bor_ with a list of their other known names underneath. To the right of the text was an image, a black and white drawing of trees covered in snow with the shadowy, featureless figure of a Frost Giant walking through. It looked exactly like Jack's father and sister that she had seen a month and a half ago. The writing was old—the book was written nearly two hundred years ago by someone by the name of Gregor Hans Sylaman. She settled in and started reading.

The Frost Giants were originally from the Netherlands, so Sylaman referred to them the whole time by their dutch name, "Shadows of Van der Bor". They had lived in the Netherlands for an unknown amount of time, until sometime in the 17th century, when they had just disappeared completely. Sightings of the tall creatures were then reported through northern Russia and eventually the Siberian tundra. Apparently, there had only ever been one known tribe, although no one knew exactly how many there were. There were no records of them ever speaking, at least not a recognizable human language, although Sylaman believed them to be highly intelligent and practiced in their own brand of magic.

Her heart beat faster as she read more and more. They were dangerous. They weren't like centaurs or dwarves or even the giants—they had never been known to have any sympathies towards the wizard or muggle worlds, and in fact were regarded as heartless and violent. They kept to themselves, but they had been known to wipe out entire villages for unknown reasons, known to leave explorers dead in more than one piece, their blood frozen solid inside of them. Merida felt sick as Sylaman went on for almost a page about Dierek the Giant slayer, who had managed to hunt down and kill a handful of Frost Giants and earn himself a fancy title in the process.

There was only one known "Gurg", a word that was normally reserved for the chiefs of giant tribes. Sylaman said that the wizards of northern Russian villages shied away from questions about the legendary creature, calling it cursed. The few Sylaman could find who would talk about it called the Gurg in whispers by the name of  _Ten'Zwart_ , or  _The Pitch Black Shadow_. It wasn't known if the Gurg had another name, or if Frost Giants gave names to their species at all. No one was quite sure of their lifespan, so no one knew whether the Gurg was still alive or not. One thing was for sure, the Gurg was a powerful enemy of the wizarding world.

The book went on to state that most spells didn't work on the creatures, and that Sylaman's only suggestion was to avoid all contact unless it was possible to isolate one to kill it. But that would take a dozen or more powerful wizards braving the harsh Siberian north, having no idea where to start looking or how to actually capture the thing.

Merida quickly turned the page, but the book moved on to talk about Siberian tigers. She flipped back through the few pages of information she had, reading them over again, looking for more that she might have missed. There wasn't anything more. She huffed in frustration, before looking up at Hiccup. She had to call his name three times before he was snapped out of his own little world.

"Is this all that there is?" she asked.

"Pretty much," he replied, "There are a few other books I've come across that mention them, but they don't say anything more than what's there."

"Well, what about…half-bloods?"

He raised his eyebrows. "Half-blooded Frost Giants? I haven't ever heard of any. Not that that's surprising—up until a century ago there weren't any records of half-blooded wizards of any species. Even I would be an outcast, since my mother's a muggle. Trust purebloods to suppress any information like that. No offence. From what I know, they don't like wizards or muggles, and there's absolutely no knowledge about how they reproduce, so I don't even know if that's possible."

"But if it _were_  possible, then what?"

He sat back in his chair, considering her question. "Well, then they'd be half Frost Giant, I guess. I think they'd be really easy to recognize—maybe they would look deformed and shadowy, like a Frost Giant, but more human. Who knows?"

"Do you think they'd have magic like the Frost Giants? What other sort of symptoms would they have? This Gurg Pitch Black guy, what about him? What would he do with half-bloods?"

Hiccup laughed. "Geez, you're really getting into this." He scratched the back of his head. "Well, I guess they might have the same magic, but I have no idea if that Gurg is still alive, let alone how he'd feel about half-bloods. Frost Giants aren't known for their feelings. In fact, they're pretty violent. A half-blooded Frost Giant would probably be pretty emotionless and apathetic, and possibly violent, too. They wouldn't be like Hagrid, obviously, and it would probably be better for everyone if they stayed up in the mountains where they belong."

Merida blinked. He gave her a small shrug and an awkward smile before turning back to his books. She watched him hunch over his paper, his long fingers pulling his quill quickly back and forth. He checked the page in a book, made a small hum to himself, and then wrote something down. Merida felt her fingers curling tightly around the edge of her book.

She was…angry. What Hiccup had said, and the way he had said it, had made her angry. She shouldn't be mad—he didn't know that he was being insensitive to his best friend, who was struggling with his bloodline and the "family" that came with it. He didn't know that it was possible for Jack to become like Flenna, like these creatures she had just read about, and that Pitch was real and was after him because he was a half-breed. Hiccup didn't know any of that, but she was still angry. Odd. Had she ever been angry at Hiccup before?

She was jarred from her thoughts when Astrid appeared out of nowhere, clapping her hands on Hiccup's shoulders from behind.

"Boo!" she said with a grin.

"Oh, yeah, har dee har, you're hysterical," Hiccup responded dryly with a roll of the eyes at Merida.

"You love it," Astrid dipped down to give him a swift peck on the cheek, which Merida watched, her hands still clenching the book tightly. Astrid straightened and said to her, "So, Merida, you ready for our match tomorrow? You think you can still function in this weather?"

Merida blinked, caught off guard by everything in the last few seconds. "Ah, oh…yes."

Astrid grinned. "Well, good, because I was just out there, and boy was it rough." She ran a hand through her bangs, and Merida realized Astrid's hair was a wet mess and she was sniffing a little. She was back in her normal clothes and not her quidditch uniform, but she pulled her sweater sleeves as far down as she could and tucked her arms in.

"Is it  _still_  snowing?" Merida asked, scrunching her nose up.

"Yep. And Madam Hooch doesn't think it's showing any signs of stopping."

Merida turned her attention back to Hiccup when he stood up. He had already stacked his books neatly on the table, with only two in his hands to take to his dorm. He put an arm around Astrid.

"You're freezing," he commented.

"I  _am_  freezing," she agreed. "Can we please go back to the common room now? I want to curl up by the fire and have some of that fangleaf tea your mom sent us."

"You say that like you're waiting on me, when I've been sitting here this whole time waiting for  _you_ ," Hiccup said, and Astrid gave him a cute smile and little shrug. He smiled back before turning to Merida. She blinked back, surprised that she hadn't been forgotten completely. It wouldn't have been the first time. Sometimes it seemed like the couple was in their own world and that Merida had to watch from the outside. He said, "I'll see you later, Mer. Good luck with your research."

"Thanks," she replied lamely.

"See you tomorrow, Merida," Astrid settled under Hiccup's arm and they headed down the aisles to the entrance.

Merida watched them go. She was always watching them go, it seemed. She wondered when it was that she had stopped looking at Hiccup from the side and started watching him from the back. A little ache in her hands reminded her that she was still clutching the book hard. She slowly let go and stretched her fingers.

Maybe she should have taken advantage of having Hiccup to herself for a few minutes and talked to him. She'd fallen into the old, comfortable routine of sitting near him in silence as he studied, and had even gotten angry with him. Then his girlfriend had come and whisked him away. Merida didn't get him to herself often anymore. She supposed she shouldn't, anyway.

 _SKREEEEEEEEEEEEEE_ —

Merida cringed at the loud grinding sound and turned, only to see a red, overstuffed loveseat being pushed across the wooden floor toward her by Jack Frost. With a little skip of the heart, which was becoming normal when she saw him, she stared. What on earth was he doing? She was in a more secluded back corner of the library, with only a few other students down a side aisle, but each one had looked up in surprise at the loud sound to watch Jack pushing the sofa from wherever he had gotten it.

The librarian appeared out of thin air with a  _pop_. She looked at Jack like he was insane, a hand on her hip, before angrily saying, " _Shhh_!"

Jack paused, giving her a cheeky smile. He whispered loudly back, "Right, sorry, yeah, I'll be quiet, just, I'm almost there, so," and he started pushing the loveseat again, the loud  _SKREE_ continuing until he reached the rug, which the sofa got caught on and almost threw him back. Merida couldn't help the snort of laughter that escaped her. The librarian shot her a dirty look, which only made her want to laugh more. She watched Jack's slow approach toward her, everyone still watching him the whole way. Finally, the armrest of the sofa slid so close to Merida's side she could have put her elbow up and used it herself. Jack gave her a grin before flopping down on it, his head on the armrest beside her and his feet propped up on the opposite side.

The other students chuckled and returned to their books or quiet chatter, and the librarian walked away, her narrowed eyes on Jack.

"Hey, Dunbroch," Jack said quietly, grinning up at her.

She laughed. "You loon."

"What'cha doing in here? Are you actually doing homework?" He peeked at her book, pausing when he saw what she was reading. "Sylaman. Are you reading up on me?"

She snapped the book closed. "Not on  _you_ , just your...kind."

He waited. "And?"

"And what?"

"What've you found?"

His face was placid, but his eyes watched hers carefully. He was looking for something in her, but she wasn't sure what.

"Not much more than what I already knew." Except that maybe Frost Giants weren't just inhuman in looks but in character as well. Could they really be so apathetic and violent? She pictured Flenna as a Frost Giant, carefully reaching a hand out to her older brother. She thought about Jack and his laughter and his worries and his surprising deepness. Never would she have thought him to be unfeeling.

Jack nodded, facing away from her again.

"Jack," she said, gently running her fingers over the worn leather binding of the book.

"Hm?"

"Why is it snowing?"

"Well, because it's too cold for the ice crystals to melt when they fall from the sky, so instead of rain falling, it's little flakes of frozen water."

"Shut up, I'm not a moron."

A beat passed. Then Jack shifted on the couch enough to pull out his wand from his sleeve. " _Iteus proculum_ ," he said.

Merida wondered what spell that was until she noticed that the few other students down the aisles were closing their books and walking away. Their section of the library was suddenly empty except for them. She was impressed, and then she was annoyed that he could still impress her with stupid spells that she should have mastered years ago.

Jack propped himself up on the armrest so he could look at her. "Ok, I'm ready."

"Eh? For what?"

"For your questions. You've hardly asked me any the last week, and I figured you'd have them eventually."

"You're right, I have loads of questions," she dropped the book on the desk with a thud. "But you're too busy playing Prefect to talk to me."

"Yeah, sorry. Although as fun as monitoring hallways and confiscating Wizard Wheezes  _is_ ," his voice dripped with sarcasm, but dried up at the end, "I'd rather be hanging out with you."

It took all her willpower not to lose it because of his impish grin. Instead, she opened her mouth and blurted out the first question in her mind, "What happens if Pitch finds you? Will he kill you? Are you not supposed to exist?"

He raised his eyebrows.

"Ah, sorry," she immediately tried to back peddle, embarrassed by her lack of tact.

"No. He won't kill me. He might try, though," Jack said calmly. Merida stopped squirming and listened. "But he can't get me here. All those rumors about how the protection spells on Hogwarts are, like, iron tight ever since the Battle of Hogwarts twenty years ago? Turns out they're not rumors. Hogwarts is drowning in protection spells, and my uncle, North, made sure Professor McGonagall knew everything so she could look after me. You have  _no_  idea how annoying it is—if you think the teachers used to watch us like hawks, waiting for us to cause trouble, you should see how they look at me now. Like I might disappear if they blink. It's the worst." But he was smiling, which made Merida relax.

"So, Pitch isn't really a threat, then," she said.

Her peace was short lived when Jack went on, "Oh, no, he definitely is. He's probably going to try freezing us out—that's what all the snow is about. And it'll just get worse the closer he gets. Frost Giants don't move very fast. They're kind of like giant glaciers, just ice sliding across the land. And I think they hibernate, too, or at the very least I think they just live  _slower_. That's why they live so long."

"They live a long time? How long?"

"Centuries, sometimes. Flenna could outlive me by a millennia."

"How old is Pitch?"

"Dunno. My mom thought he was one of the older ones, but she could be wrong. She never met him—she died before he could wake up and find out that she was with my dad. If you can call meeting him a handful of times in some ice caves being 'with' him."

Oh, boy, did Merida have more questions about that. But she didn't feel like now was the time to delve into the open wound that was his mother's untimely death by asking about reproduction. He had said his mother was sick for a while, and then passed away, leaving him and Flenna in North's care. Merida wondered if that was the full truth.

"So, Pitch is still coming here. To kill you? Then why is he pulling at your giant blood, too?" she asked.

"Well, it's either join the family business of creeping around mountains and preying on the few idiots who get themselves lost there, or die. Pitch will get me to do one or the other. That's what my dad and Flenna came to warn me about."

A chill ran down her spine. He said it so matter-of-factly. No. He said it with a hint of resignation. He really believed those were his only two options.

No way. There was no way North, or Professor McGonagall, or Professor Tallen, or any of the teachers, would let that happen. He was safe here. Pitch could rage and tantrum and cause blizzards all he wanted, but there was no reaching Jack at Hogwarts. Their fortress of a school had faced the biggest and baddest of wizard armies—it could keep Jack safe from one sociopathic shadow-man and his snowstorm.

In the meantime, they just had to look after Jack.

"What's in the potion Professor Longbottom makes you?" she asked.

"A bunch of disgusting stuff, like powdered warbler gizzard and frog's tongue. The main ingredient is rageweed, which is a tiny little flower that comes dried from somewhere in South America where Professor Longbottom has a friend. In the simplest terms, it keeps me warm. Although I can't warm up normally anymore, not like you can."

She glanced at the hand he had leaning on the armrest. She might of been imagining it, but his skin seemed even paler than it had been a few weeks ago, despite him being outside quite often. And she knew from experience that his fingers were always cold. She remembered back to the first day of school, when he had avoided his friends' questions about his summer and shied away from her touch.

He didn't shy away now when she reached out to take his hand. She scratched her nose and looked anywhere but at him.

"Sorry," he said after a second. "You hate the cold."

She looked back at him to see him looking down at their hands with a small smile, his thumb gently moving across the back of her knuckles. Before she knew it she was standing. The sofa was too close to the table for her to walk around, so instead she surprised him by climbing over the armrest, shoving him out of the way so she had room to sit. She took his other hand and held them both on her lap. Their skin was almost the same shade of pale, but hers was pink and freckled, making it look more alive than his.

"I don't hate it," she said. The last thing she wanted was for him to feel like he couldn't reach out to the one person who knew what he was going through because he thought she disliked the cold more than she liked him. "Thank you for answering my questions. That book was almost useless." And had just made her nauseous with all the talk about violence and inhumanity. It was hard enough picturing Jack's sweet little sister as a heartless Frost Giant, and she had actually seen her as one—it was harder to picture Jack that way. "And Hiccup wasn't any better, either. For such a smart-aleck, he knew hardly anything. Ah, but, I didn't say anything about you, if you were wondering."

"Is that what you two were talking about earlier? I thought it was unusual for you to be in here studying, even if it was with Hiccup."

"You saw me with Hiccup earlier?" she asked. "Why didn't you come sit with us?"

"I was on my way to return a book for Elsa and saw you two. When I came back he was leaving. Which was fine by me, then I could just be with you, which I preferred anyway."

She hoped he wasn't looking at her face, because her cheeks warmed a little. Crivens, she hoped this habit didn't last forever. She didn't know that she could handle that.

"Well," she said, "You had perfect timing. You always do." And she really meant it. He might not know it, but he always seemed to pop up to take her mind off something sad right when she needed it, especially when it had to do with Hiccup and Astrid. Last year, when he'd been with Elsa all the time, she had felt the loss of his presence more than she would probably ever dare admit. Now she felt the return of it in a whole new way.

"Good," he said, "That's what I go for. That idiot doesn't ever notice the way you look at him."

Merida froze. "What?"

"What?" he said back.

"You…knew I liked Hiccup?"

"Well, yeah."

"Since when?" If Rapunzel had told, she would kill her.

"Uh, pfft, pretty much since I met you. You suck at acting, remember? Plus, I spent, like, every day with you two."

She was staring at him, and by the look on his face, she might have looked a bit scary.

"I wasn't aware you were trying to keep it a secret from me," he admitted. "I just thought you preferred talking to Rapunzel about it."

Jack knew. Jack  _had known_  all this time. She didn't know if she wanted to scream, punch him, run away, or hide her face in the sofa cushions. How had he known? Oh, crivens, she was so embarrassingly obvious, wasn't she? How many more people knew? No, no, she shouldn't be this surprised by this. Jack was one of her oldest friends and Hiccup's best friend. Rapunzel had picked it up almost immediately—of course someone as observant as Jack would have known.

Jack had known, and never rubbed it in her face. Jack had known, and never held it over her head or threatened to tell Hiccup to get her to do what he wanted. Jack had known, and never made her feel bad for it.

Jack had known, and kissed her anyway.

Jack had known, and always shown up to distract her in the moment of spiraling, self-destructive thoughts of inadequacy and heartache.

"Wait," she said, trying to wrap her head around everything. "That wee show with the sofa earlier…was that on purpose?"

"I really wanted to sit on this sofa, let's not be mislead about that. But I did come over right then on purpose, yeah."

Her mind was reeling. How many other times had Jack annoyingly popped out of nowhere to sling an arm around her neck, throw a snowball at her back, done a spell to make her gawk, all to keep her from staring pathetically after Hiccup and Astrid? Alright, she could think of plenty of times when he had done that without Hiccup ever being around, but she could also remember dozens of times when she had been relieved to have him show up.

"But...how?" she asked.

Jack had leaned back into the couch and was watching her with a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. "Like I said, that idiot doesn't ever notice how you look at him. Doesn't mean I don't."

Her heart beat harder. Not faster or more excited, just harder. Like it was heavy. She wasn't sure if it sort of hurt, or if it was sort of pleasant. Her conversation with Rapunzel from a few days before came back to her. There was no way Rapunzel's fantasy about Jack being secretly in love with her for years was true. No one was secretly in love with Merida. Still, this was sounding a little odd to her. But there was no way. Right?

"Jack, do you," she licked her lips, "You haven't, like… _liked_  me…"

"Since we were kids? Nope."

Oh. Ok, so she had been right. Rapunzel was just insane. Crivens, now she was embarrassed for having asked. What an idiot, of course not. This was Jack they were talking about. Not even Hiccup liked her, and she had known him since they were in diapers. She'd been best friends with him through the most awkward of his awkward years. She was one of the only three girls that Hiccup talked to. Jack wasn't like that. Jack was the opposite. Jack just needed someone, and she had agreed to be that person, but she shouldn't think there would be anything more than that. She pulled back a little, the beating of her heart definitely feeling more painful now.

"But I always knew I could have really liked you," he added.

She paused. "What?"

He looked as calm as ever. "Sure. I was too smart to fall for you—literally the only guy you ever looked at was Hiccup—but I knew I could have."

What.

What.

"What?"

He let out one airy chuckle. "You're looking at me like I have three eyes. It's not  _my_  fault you're cute."

_What._

Her heart was definitely beating faster now. She said through clenched teeth, "If you're making fun of me, I swear,  _I swear_ , I will kill you." After she was done crying in the bathroom, that is. Dang it, why were her emotions always so strong and obvious? Why was he always so cool and collected?

"I'm not making fun of you. Bloody hell, sometimes you're impossible. Let a guy call you cute once in a while."

"Guys  _don't_  call me cute. Ever. Guys invite me to all guy parties and want me to kick their butts at quidditch and laugh at my Scottish swearing. Half the time I forget I'm a girl, and it's no surprise that the only guy who treats me like a girl is Hic—" She stopped.

There was a flower sitting on her windowsill upstairs. She had been kissed gently outside the owlery. For years someone had been showing up right on time to keep her from being sad.

Jack treated her like a girl.

Jack said, "Those same guys would probably have asked you out if you had slowed down long enough to let them." He made a face like he remembered something. "And if I hadn't told some of them you were lesbian. Partly because it was funny, partly because they were pissing me off."

She was full on gawking at him now. "What, what, you.  _You_." It came out a slight growl.

"Oh, yeah, and that," he said, the smile starting to reach his eyes a bit more. "Your bearish growling sort of intimidates people. But it's fine. It's one of the things I like about you."

She snorted in disbelief. "That I'm a brutish animal?"

He laughed. "'Brutish' isn't the word I was going to use. Hotheaded maybe, but that might just come from being a Scottish redhead, right? And before you get mad at me any further, I love that you're Scottish." Somehow through the last few minutes they were still holding hands. He looked down at them and she felt his thumb running over her fingers again, cool and smooth. "I love that your crazy red hair makes you look more like the Gryffindor mascot than the mascot does. I love that you love quidditch and the sunlight and laughing with me, and that you can't lie to save your life. I love how much you love Angus and your brothers and your parents. I always loved all those things. They're what make you so fun. But I knew I'd get burned if I actually liked you, so I just watched from the sidelines and thought I was so smart for knowing not to touch the fire. Then, of course, you ran after me a week ago looking so desperate, and for the first time I felt like you were looking at  _me_. Just at me. Guess I jumped in the fire with both feet after that. Guess that made me feel like it might be ok to do it."

He stopped talking, smiling more to himself than her.

This was too much. Merida's chest felt achy and full. She'd always wanted to hear these things, although never had she imagined Jack to be the one saying them. And maybe the craziest part was that she didn't mind that he was the one saying them. She didn't mind sitting this close, his hands holding hers, saying with a smile that she was fun. That he liked hanging out with her. That he liked her. She didn't mind at all that it was him.

She leaned forward, placing her hand lightly on Jack's chest to brace herself, and kissed him softly on the lips. It was less than three seconds, and then they were looking at each other, her dark blue eyes meeting his pale, piercing blue ones.

"Ah," she said, pulling further back and chewing her lip for a second. "I'm sorry. I don't…I'm not sure how I…"

"You're not sure if you like me?" he finished for her, still smiling slightly. "I know. It's ok. It's better than you swearing on Merlin's grave that I would be the last person on the planet that you'd ever like."

"What?" she exclaimed. "Did I say that?"

"Yep. Second year, when that prat, Hans, was teasing me for having a Gryffindor girlfriend."

"Ah, right. That guy was the worst, even for a Slytherin."

"Hey, I resent that."

"Why? You're also the worst. But I do like you, Jack."

His eyebrows went up in surprise. "Hm? You do?"

"Of course I do. You're one of my closest friends. But Hiccup…I just…It's been so long. I haven't got a chance, I know I haven't, but I still have feelings for the stupid idiot."

"I know."

"But I—" and here was where her cheeks were turning pink again, "That doesn't mean I don't, it's not like I mind, I mean, I sort of like this. I mean..." Oh no, she was getting flustered. Her heart had picked up speed already, and it made it harder to concentrate. "I don't know what  _this_  is, and if it's not what I think it is, that's fine! Just tell me! All I'm saying is I just don't mind, you know, being with you, and if it's good with you, or if you need it or whatever, then I don't mind, you know, being with…you."

Oh, crivens. She'd been talking so fast she'd barely understood herself. She probably sounded like an idiot, like usual. Her mother was always telling her that no one could understand her when she was excited. And now he looked like he was on the verge of cracking up.

"Shut it," she said warningly, "I'm trying to say something nice, you idiot, don't you dare laugh."

He was grinning widely. "I can't help it. You're so cute."

She wasn't used to that yet, and she was sure it showed on her face. "Shut  _up_."

He laughed. "It's fine, it's fine. I understand what you're saying. So you've still got feelings for Hiccup, and I'm a half-blooded Frost Giant that the school would probably shun if they knew." He heaved a melodramatic sigh. "I guess neither of us are perfect. But I don't mind all that if you don't."

He sat up toward her, his nose close enough to hers that she could feel his cool breath. He was close enough she could see all his pale colored eyelashes and the little veins of darker blue that laced his irises. She felt an increasingly familiar warmth spread from the middle of her stomach to the tips of all her limbs, which pulled her toward him. She was learning to really like that feeling.

Then quiet enough that she might not have heard if she wasn't this close already, he said, "So, if it's alright with you, can _I_ have you for a little while?"

She frowned. "A little while?"

"Oh, ho, the lady doesn't like that?" he said with a quick smirk. "Alright, then how about as long as I can?"

She put her arms around his neck, which a few days ago might have seemed insane to her, but now seemed like exactly the right thing to do. "I like that a lot better," she said.

Then he suddenly seized her around the waist, causing her to call out in surprise when they fell back on the sofa, her head narrowly missing bumping into the armrest before landing on the seat cushion. He leaned over her with a wicked smile. She stared up at him, not sure if her heart had stopped dead, the warmth in her stomach turning into a heat that made it hard to swallow. He looked at her eyes and her lips, then down a little further and back to her eyes. His lip twitched, and a snicker escaped. The sound gave her something grounded to hold onto, to bring her back from the dizzying head spin she had almost embarked on. She gave the tiniest of growls and quickly smacked him on the back of the head.

"What are you laughing at?" she said.

"I just imagined the librarian finding us and kicking us out for disturbing the peace."

"Wouldn't be the first time."

"It would be the first time for  _this_  reason."

"So be it. It's been way too long since this scaffy Slytherin Prefect has gotten in trouble."

"I agree."

He kissed her, and the only coherent thought she had before she was lost in his kisses and hands and weight of his body over hers was an echo of his voice through her head,  _Can I have you for a little while?_


	6. Chapter 6

Merida's bewilderment at the strange turn her life had taken remained consistent over the days that followed their conversation in the library. She supposed they were…a couple now? Was that what that conversation had meant? Is that what she had meant when she had agreed to him having her for "as long as he could"? Just remembering it made her red as a tomato.

She still found herself surprised to find Jack's eyes on her, to feel his fingers brush hers every time he walked by. She felt pretty stupid about all of it, and wondered if she would get used to it.

She hadn't wanted to tell anyone yet, and Jack never brought it up as an issue. He seemed fine being just as quiet about it as she was. The only ones that knew were Rapunzel, who treated it like the best dang secret she had ever heard, and Elsa Arendell, whom Jack admitted that he had told.

Hiccup and Astrid didn't know yet—she didn't want them to. Merida felt guilty about that, and she hoped Jack wasn't bothered by it. She wasn't sure how she felt about Hiccup at the moment. She wasn't sure how she felt about Jack, yet, either. She didn't know if this new side of their "friendship" was temporary, or how much he actually felt toward her. But she liked having him around. She liked kissing him. She simply tried to avoid seeing Hiccup as much as possible to keep herself from getting more confused. Besides, she felt like Jack needed her right now—she was still determined to help lessen his burden, however that may be.

When he had time between Prefect duties and homework and classes and monitoring the halls, he would spend it with her. She didn't understand why the teachers asked him to do so much when they knew he was struggling with more important things, but Jack told her they were trying to help.

"They're trying to keep me busy, I think," he told her. "Help keep my mind off things."

"Busy? Who cares? You're Jack Frost—you of all people aren't a 'busy' person, and I prefer it that way," she responded.

He leaned closer. "Oh, yeah? You like me that much, huh, Dunbroch?"

She pushed his face away, pretending she wasn't pink every time he did that. "I don't like you at all, Frost. I just mean that you'll be more trouble than you're worth if they try to keep you busy."

Despite her teasing, she started making herself easier to find. She would sit at the first desk in the library, right inside the door. When she left Rapunzel for the evening, she didn't go straight back to her common room, but instead found a niche in a windowsill or a spot on a staircase where he would be more likely to pass by.

It was rare when he didn't find her, and when he did he would give her an annoying, knowing smile that she refused to acknowledge, before sitting beside her. They would talk then, about their friends or their classes or quidditch. And when the halls emptied and they were alone, it was only a matter of time before Merida found her hand in his, and she could rely on knowing that it wouldn't be much longer before he, or she, leaned over and kissed the other. She worried about Peeves finding them and spreading the news, since he and Jack notoriously loved to prank each other. Jack assured her that he had hexed Peeves to be trapped in the Ravenclaw tower, and Rapunzel complained the poltergeist was causing havoc to the poor Ravenclaws as they tried to solve the riddles to get into their common room. That had made Merida laugh and stopped her from looking over her shoulder so often when she was with Jack.

Quiet, chilly nights in the halls of the school, with wind and snow falling on the other side of the windows and soft laughter breaking the silence, were becoming a common and welcome thing to Merida.

It was almost two weeks of these goings on before the knots and butterflies in Merida's stomach cleared up enough to allow her to remember that there were other things happening besides her realizing how annoyingly attractive Jack's face was.

Snow was falling heavier and more furiously as days passed. Halloween came with a blizzard that felled several trees on the edge of the Forbidden Forest, as well as nearly burying Hagrid's home in snow. Professor McGonagall had moved him indoors now, into the office of the Care of Magical Creatures professor, which Hagrid had previously declined using. The half giant teacher seemed a bit stir crazy, wandering the halls with an uncomfortable restlessness but a kind smile for every student, often commenting that there'd never been a time when he couldn't do grounds keeping at Hogwarts, no, sir, never a time since even before Albus Dumbledore was headmaster, and that was before any of them was alive.

Merida felt for her poor professor. She herself was going stir crazy, not to mention that she was furious that quidditch had been cancelled for the rest of the season. But Merida and Hagrid weren't the only ones affected by the blizzard and the indoors. All the students at Hogwarts were twitching in their seats and looking out the windows at the dark skies and snow. Merida often heard conversations in the halls and at dinner about the unusual weather, and how the owls were later than normal, even by a few days at a time. Late mail was almost unheard of, but the owls were resilient, intelligent creatures, and they always managed to bring letters from concerned parents eventually.

Some worry went around that perhaps they all would be stuck at the school for Christmas, but Professor McGonagall told them to quit worrying, that was still two months away, and assured them all that the Hogwarts's train could run through anything. Hagrid proudly told anyone who cared to listen that the cold and snow didn't bother the thestrals one bit. Merida didn't care much about going home—her thoughts immediately went to Jack. What would he do? Surely he couldn't go home, not with Pitch practically on the brink of the Forbidden Forest, just lying in wait. Jack wouldn't even be able to go home with Hiccup or Merida for the same reason. But then what? Would he spend his Christmas here with the teachers, without North, his only family member? The thought was depressing.

On top of that, Merida wasn't blind to the effects of everything on Jack. Naively, she had thought that Jack would somehow be getting better now. Why? It's not like her blushing at him would somehow make his Frost Giant blood stop trying to work its way to the surface. She was sure the blizzard outside worried him, although he never said so. In fact, he seemed to be less talkative all the way around the further they got into winter. He still smiled and laughed with others and Merida, but he said less, and when he thought no one was looking, a grimace sometimes crossed his face. A pit was slowly forming in Merida's stomach because of it.

One day she looked at him and suddenly noticed that he was paler than ever, with gray bags under his eyes. She had pointed it out after hours of silently feeling horrible for not noticing sooner. She had been too embarrassed about him seeing her blush to look him straight in the face for the last few weeks, and so hadn't seen the subtle changes in him. What an idiot she was.

"I _am_ doing better," he told her calmly, "Really. But Pitch is also getting closer." Then he told her not to worry, and kissed her head. She growled low in her throat and worried anyway.

In November, Merida wrote home to her parents, suggesting that she should stay at school for Christmas. Her mother replied, asking why Merida's grades were so bad. Merida huffed and wondered if the teachers ratted on her when she wasn't doing well in class. She couldn't imagine soft-spoken Professor Longbottom doing that, but the next few days she watched him with suspicious eyes. She wrote her mother again, explaining that her grades were fine, although they certainly weren't, and saying that she really ought to stay at school for Christmas.

Her mother wrote back, asking why she wanted to stay at school when her grades showed that she hated it so much.

Merida didn't say that it was because her friend, who happened to be her new boyfriend, would have to stay at the school over the break alone because an ancient Frost Giant was out to get him because, oh yeah, he was a half Frost Giant, too. Instead, she told her mother that she was sixteen, seventeen next June, and she should be able to stay at school for Christmas if she wanted to.

Her mother reminded her that she had only been sixteen for four months, and that girls who weren't responsible enough not to fail their classes weren't responsible enough to stay at school by themselves all break.

Merida tore the letter up angrily, and poor Rapunzel heard an earful on how stubborn and annoying her mother could be sometimes. Rapunzel listened and said she understood the issue, and then Merida felt guilty because Rapunzel's mother was considerably more controlling than Merida's. That didn't stop Merida from being angry and remembering every stupid time her ridiculous mother had fought with her over every stupid little thing. She just didn't understand her mother. And her mother, obviously, didn't understand her either.

She didn't tell Jack about her correspondence with her mother. She didn't tell him that she was failing several classes, either. And she didn't tell him that she was getting less and less sleep each night, which often made her late to class, and then caused her to fall asleep on her desk. How could she tell him? She didn't want to add any unnecessary worries to his stack of responsibilities. Not to mention that the reason she was having issues with all of those things was because of him. That would only bother him more. No, she was here to support Jack. That's what she'd said, wasn't it? That he could rely on her? She had to be someone reliable.

So she swallowed her pride the best she possibly could and wrote another letter to her mother, explaining that she had a friend who would be staying over the break, and she really felt like she should stay so that he wouldn't be alone. She didn't say which friend, and she didn't say "boyfriend"—she could barely  _think_  the word, let alone admit it in writing to her mother of all people. That would be just about the most horrifying thing of her life. Who knew what her mother would do. Probably poke her nose exactly where it didn't belong and humiliate Merida. Merida would have to hope that her mother this once, just this once, would understand without asking too many questions.

* * *

Rapunzel didn't have the same problem that Merida did with the word "boyfriend". In fact, she threw it around as often as she possibly could:

"Oh, look, here comes your boyfriend."

"Did your boyfriend get a new tie? It looks extra green today."

"I saw your boyfriend and Elsa talking this morning. They still seem awfully chummy. Do you ever talk to her?"

"So I guess your boyfriend was instructed to watch the first years in their study period while the librarian was busy yesterday. The first years in my dorm were all trying to practice the slug hex on each other last night, and we all know the king of that curse is your boyfriend."

The first week of December, Rapunzel commented as she sat beside Merida at breakfast, "Your boyfriend's not here this morning."

"Will you stop saying that so loud?" Merida chided halfheartedly, glancing at the Gryffindors around the table to see if anyone had heard.

"I shan't," Rapunzel replied, popping a strawberry into her mouth. Then she passed one to Pascal, whose pink tongue shot out from her hair to grab it. "Tis a truth and I relish in your embarrassment. Get over it; it's been almost two month since you two have been snogging. And last week you ditched me at dinner to hang out with him in the library  _three times_. He's your boyfriend, whether you use the word or not."

"Mmm," Merida said, pretending that there wasn't a little bit of pink in her cheeks as she pushed a few curls out of her face. She was leaning heavily on the table, her chin resting on her arm, as she used a free hand to poke at her oatmeal with a spoon. She wasn't in the mood for food, although she wouldn't tell Rapunzel that. Anytime Merida didn't feel like eating it sent Rapunzel into a worried frenzy, ending with Merida wrapped in multiple layers of clothing and a cup of hot tea and handful of cookies being force-fed her by her energetic friend.

"So where is Jack?" Rapunzel asked. "He's not over there by Elsa like usual."

Merida was fully aware that Jack had not entered the Great Hall yet that morning. She couldn't help but keep an eye out for him, whether she meant to or not. But instead of explaining this to Rapunzel, she simply turned her head and glanced at Elsa Arendell.

Elsa stood along the wall on the far side of the Slytherin table. Her hair was looser than normal, nearly falling out of its braid in ashy blonde waves. Elsa had always been reserved, although when she and Jack had begun spending time together and her sister became closer to her, she had smiled a lot more. Much to the enjoyment and jealousy of several guys, and girls, that Merida had overheard. She wondered if Elsa ever corrected people who assumed she was dating Jack.

The poor Slytherin girl looked exhausted as she observed her peers at the silver and green table. Jack had told Merida that the storm Pitch was berating Hogwarts with was affecting Elsa, too, although she still looked healthier than Jack. Merida glanced at the gaping windows that lined the walls above Elsa. Outside, the sky was dark with clouds, snow falling in heavy sheets and being blown around by crazy winds. Inside it was warm, with candles and green holly floating overhead cheerfully.

Merida looked back at Elsa and found the girl's eyes were on her. It wasn't the first time she had caught Elsa staring at her in the last few weeks. She hadn't told Jack about it yet, because she wasn't sure what to say. She wasn't ever sure how to talk to him about Elsa. He spoke of the Arendell girl with fondness and understanding, always taking her side. Merida never brought it up. He had always talked about Elsa like that in the last two years, and Merida supposed he wouldn't stop now that he was with Merida. Elsa was still his friend. It was still Elsa that he spent time with in Slytherin house when he left Merida. And Merida and Elsa, well, they'd never really talked, not beyond the casual greeting when Merida approached her and Jack. Then Elsa would excuse herself and walk away.

Merida held Elsa's gaze for a few moments, wondering what she could possibly thinking. Elsa's expression was unreadable, as always, and Merida gave up after a moment and turned away.

"I dunno where Jack is," Merida admitted to Rapunzel. "Probably off helping younger students smuggle Weasley's Wizard Wheezes past Filch under the protection of his Prefect pin."

Rapunzel giggled. "Maybe. But he hasn't been looking so good lately. Is he getting sick?"

A beat passed before Merida lied, "I dunno."

"You're his girlfriend. Shouldn't you know?" Rapunzel paused. "Why aren't you eating? Are you not feeling well, either? Is this about your last mark on your Charms exam? You still haven't told me what you got. How bad was it really?"

Merida sighed and forced herself to eat a spoonful of oatmeal.

A loud rapping at one of the high windows in the Great Hall drew the attention of the students at breakfast. Outside, amongst the blowing wind and snow, was a flock of owls, desperately flapping their wings against the powerful gusts threatening to blow them away. Professor McGonagall left her conversation with the other teachers at the front table and smartly walked toward the windows, raising her wand with a graceful, boney hand. The highest window burst open with a bang and the owls entered the room, tumbling along on the freezing wind that tore through the room. The students pulled their robes and scarves tighter around them to guard against the frigid air as the owls screeched through the room, flicking pieces of ice down upon the students as they flapped their wings. Professor McGonagall flicked her wrist again and the window laboriously closed itself, shutting out the cold air at last. The Slytherins, who were beneath the window, shook the snow off themselves, complaining about the cold. Elsa calmly dusted a bit of snow off her shoulder.

"Merida," Rapunzel said, elbowing Merida.

Merida turned away from Elsa again. "What, Punz?"

"Your family's owl is here. Don't tell me it's another letter from your mom."

Merida followed Rapunzel's gaze to a gray barn owl that was circling the room. Ah. The reply from her mother to Merida's last letter. Merida's heart beat sped up hopefully, but sank immediately when she saw a bright red envelope clutched in the bird's beak.

The scarlet letter dropped on the table in front of Merida with a heavy  _thunk_. Merida and Rapunzel stared at it.

"But," Rapunzel started, her eyebrows furrowing together in worry, "But that's—"

Merida snatched the letter off the table, and the long bell sleeves of her robe hid it from view as she stood up.

"Don't follow me," she said to Rapunzel before walking briskly out of the room.

No one else had noticed. Right? No one else had noticed? The other students had been looking up, seeing if they had their own letters. Hiccup was feeding the magical creatures cooped up in Hagrid's office, and Astrid had joined him. Rapunzel would be dying with curiosity, but Merida knew she would give her space until she was ready, and she wouldn't say anything to anyone. No one else would have been paying attention. Jack wasn't there. He wouldn't know.

Merida hurried up the steps away from the Great Hall, heading deeper into the school. She wasn't sure where she was going; she just wanted to get away. Already she could feel the howler begin to twitch in her grasp. She crossed through the hall with moving staircases and jumped just as the set of stairs in front of her swung away. She darted down the narrow hallway at the top of the stairs just as the letter flew out of her hand to float in front of her, her mother's voice carrying from it as though she were in front of Merida:

" _MERIDA ANN DUNBROCH_. WE'VE JUST HAD AN OWL FROM PROFESSOR MCGONAGALL. WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS? YOU ARE FAILING ALL OF YOUR CLASSES. NOT JUST ONE, NOT JUST TWO— _ALL OF THEM_. YOU'VE NEVER BEEN ONE FOR SCHOOL, WE KNOW THAT, AND I THOUGHT WE HAD COME TO A BETTER UNDERSTANDING THAT YOU WERE GOING TO STUDY HARDER TO KEEP PLAYING QUIDDITCH. BUT THIS, THIS IS ABSOLUTELY UNACCEPTABLE!"

Merida didn't even flinch at her mother's anger. She simply let the howler run its course. After a few minutes she slid down the wall and sat on the floor. Pulling out her wand, she conjured up little silver darts that hovered in the air. With a flick of her wand she could fling them at a small crack in the wall across from her. One by one, she sent them flying, with more force and anger than her blank face alluded to. They embedded themselves into the wall, but not deep enough. She flung them harder.

She paused when her mother's tone suddenly changed, "Merida, I don't, I really don't know what to do about this. I thought—I thought we were getting along better. Was I wrong? Is this your way of getting back at me?" Then the desperation quickly mounted into anger again, "You are not even  _trying_. You haven't turned in a completed assignment in  _OVER A MONTH_! IF YOU THINK WE'RE GOING TO LET YOU STAY AT SCHOOL FOR CHRISTMAS YOU'RE OUT OF YOUR MIND, YOUNG LADY. AND IF YOU THINK YOU'LL EVER PLAY QUIDDITCH AGAIN, HA! AS IF PROFESSOR LONGBOTTOM WILL ALLOW YOU TO STAY ON THE TEAM! I WANT TO HEAR NO MORE OF THIS RIDICULOUS NONSENSE ABOUT STAYING FOR CHRISTMAS; YOU WILL COME HOME, AND AS SOON AS YOU DO, WE WILL DISCUSS WHAT IS TO BE DONE ABOUT YOU."

Her mother's voice echoed once in the stone hallway as the howler quickly burst into pieces and fluttered down like pretty confetti near Merida's feet.

Merida didn't move. She simply sat, staring at the wall across from her, not even bothering to throw angry darts any more.

* * *

Merida stayed in the hallway on the floor most of the day. Why go to class? She was failing everything anyway.

But at two o'clock she would have class with Jack. And at four she had Care of Magical Creatures. If she didn't show up to those classes, Jack and Hiccup would wonder what was going on. They'd ask Rapunzel. Then everyone would come looking. She didn't want that. She didn't want anyone to find her like this.

She pushed herself off the ground and left the hall, leaving the bits of red letter on the floor behind her.

It was between classes now. A few friends from her year called out to her as she walked through the halls, but she didn't care enough to respond. But for the most part, no one paid her any attention, and she was grateful about that.

She rounded a corner and spotted a familiar head of white hair. There was Jack, walking just a little ways ahead of her in the crowd. She was shaken when a sudden wave of emotion overcame her. Her throat tightened and she suddenly felt like crying uncontrollably. She quickened her pace, hoping to reach him and grab his sleeve, pull him somewhere quiet where he could hug her. She didn't care if anyone saw her drag him away. She didn't care if he saw her cry.

She was only ten feet away, ready to call out his name with a cracking voice, when she saw Elsa walking next to him, holding his arm. Merida's heart stopped. What? Why? Then Elsa turned her face to Jack and Merida saw the worried expression on it. Jack was leaning a bit heavily on the blonde girl—Elsa wasn't simply holding onto him but holding him  _up_. A few students looked at Jack with raised eyebrows as they passed, but Elsa ushered them on down the hall. Merida could hear her voice, "He's just feeling sick; head to class."

Merida shoved through the crowd and reached Jack's side, grabbing his free arm and turning him around. Jack looked down at her in surprise, and Merida's heart jumped into her throat when she saw that his icy blue irises were laced with shadowy violet, that the blue in his veins made him look like frosted marble.

"Merida!" he said, before turning away, reaching a hand up to rub his eyes. "It's nothing. I'm fine."

"Fine my scaffy ass!" she snapped. "What's wrong? What's happening?"

"Nothing. I just…I just need to get to the infirmary." He shook her off, stepping forward with Elsa.

Merida grabbed his arm, pulling it away from his face. "Like hell I'm just going to wait around!" she said a little too loudly, drawing the eyes of some of the students in the hall. She took his hand, her other hand holding tightly to the fabric of his sleeve. She turned to Elsa, who was watching her with wide eyes. "I'll take him, Elsa."

Elsa blinked back at her before nodding once and slowly letting go of Jack.

Jack was looking at Merida again, and she swallowed at the feeling of his cold, purple eyes on her. "Come on," she said, then started down the hall, pulling him with her.

They went a few feet, and Merida pretended that she didn't see the people looking at them, didn't hear the questioning whispers around her with Jack and Elsa's names in them. She simply went forward, holding onto Jack.

"Are you sure this is ok?" Jack asked quietly, and she didn't miss the breathiness in his voice. "People will see. They'll ask questions."

"Shut up, idiot," she replied, her chin in the air, clutching his cold hand. "It's fine. I don't care." And right now, she really didn't.

He was silent the rest of the way to the infirmary, which was fine with her. All she could think about were his violet eyes and getting him help as quickly as possible.

The nurse, Toothiana, spotted them when they walked through the heavy double doors. Her smile immediately faded and she rushed over to help guide Jack to a bed and sit him down. Toothiana inhaled sharply when she saw Jack's eyes and felt the skin on his face, and Merida got the feeling that this was definitely worse than usual.

Merida stood out of the tiny woman's way, rubbing her arm anxiously and saying nothing. Toothiana fluttered about, waving her wand to conjure several floating candles that warmed the space around Jack. She fetched more blankets before setting a kettle on to boil and crushing up a bunch of dried herbs that made Merida's nose hurt to smell. Merida watched Jack the whole time, his deep breaths, his tense shoulders, how he accidentally caused the metal on his bed frame to frost over when he touched it. He didn't look up at her, not even once, and she wondered if he even wanted her there. But she wasn't about to leave.

Toothiana brought a mug of piping hot liquid that reeked over to Jack. He drank it with a wince and a cough, a puff of smoke escaping his mouth.

"It's double the dose," Toothiana told him. "Drink it all."

He obeyed. When he was about halfway through and the purple in his eyes was turning blue again, Toothiana looked over at Merida.

"Thank you for bringing him, Ms. Dunbroch," Toothiana said, "You may leave now—"

"No," Jack cut her off, not looking at either of them. "She can stay. She knows."

Merida glanced between him and the nurse. Toothiana looked back hesitantly before saying, "Jack, what happened? You were fine this morning. Did the potion not work?"

"It felt normal this morning," he said, twisting his cup around. A stream of smoke escaped through his nose and mouth. "I don't know…all of a sudden I kept feeling like there was something outside the window. Something too close. It freaked me out and the next thing I knew I had accidentally covered the whole window pane in two inches of ice. It was like…ugh, I don't know. It's hard to explain. It wasn't anything other than that. I can feel my blood calming down now." He took another sip of his drink.

Toothiana nodded. They were all silent for a few minutes before Merida noticed out of the corner of her eye that Toothiana was looking at her. When she turned to her, Toothiana gave her a small smile.

"Well," Toothiana said, probably trying for their sakes to sound cheerful. "You're looking better already. I suppose you'll be fine if I leave you up here for a few minutes while I pop downstairs? That's the last of the rageweed potion, so I'll go ask Neville to make some more."

Jack looked up at that, one eyebrow raised, his lip quirked up. "Neville? Getting personal, are we?"

Toothiana straightened her skirt, and Merida thought she saw the woman's cheeks go a bit pink. "I mean Professor Longbottom. Keep an eye on him, Ms. Dunbroch." Toothiana turned and clacked down the length of the infirmary, shutting the door behind her. Merida and Jack were left in silence, the only sound the faint whistling of the wind outside the windows.

Jack finished his drink and set the cup on the bedside table. He sighed once and ran a hand through his hair. "I'm sorry."

Merida blinked. "Sorry for what?"

"For this. For dragging you into my problems."

She snorted. "Don't be an idiot." She stepped over and waved the floating candles away to sit beside him on the bed. Once she was close enough she looked at each of his eyes closely. There were only a few veins of purple now, and with each blink they were disappearing.

"You weren't at breakfast this morning," Jack said, and she noticed there was still a bit of smoke escaping his mouth each time he talked. "Are you feeling ok?"

She smacked him on the arm, but she was sure to do it softer than she normally would have. "You're sitting here in the infirmary, breathing fire like a dragon because you went all Frost Giant on a window downstairs, and you're asking me if I feel ok? I'm fine. Where were you, anyway? When did you get there?"

"I came straight from here, actually. A couple weeks ago we decided to up my dose of potion. Toothiana has me come in twice a week now instead of once, and I normally take it before breakfast, but today I woke up a couple minutes late so I didn't get to breakfast until late."

"You changed your dose a couple weeks ago? Why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't want to bother you."

" _Bother_  me?" Merida cried.

He held up his hands in defense. "Ok, ok, worry you. I didn't want to worry you. Don't think I haven't noticed how you've been looking at me lately."

"What? How do I look at you?"

"Like I might fall apart if you're not careful. I don't like it."

Merida fell quiet, picking at the edge of the blanket on the bed. "I'm sorry."

"Don't  _you_  be sorry. I'm the one that's sorry." He was watching her fingers pick at the blanket, and after a minute he pulled her hand away, holding it still. She was forced to meet his eyes again instead. He went on, "I never wanted you to look at me like that, but it's not your fault. It's my fault. I'm the one struggling and weak and barely keeping up with my classes and schoolwork and causing huge blizzards that keep you from playing quidditch. I never wanted to be like that with you. I always wanted to be someone strong and fun that you could rely on. I'm not. I'm not really any good for you right now."

Her mother's screaming voice suddenly rang in her ears. Her own failing grades and sleepless nights and worry felt heavy on her shoulders. She ignored it. "Shut up. What does that even mean?"

"You know what it means."

"No, I don't. We've been friends for ages. You think that just 'cause we're dating you're going to suddenly convince me you're prince charming? Yeah, right. I know you too well for that."

He chuckled, and it almost sounded like his normal laugh. "I guess you're right. Still, that doesn't mean a guy can't dream that he can take care of the girl he likes, right?"

She blinked at him. "You—"

"Like you? Want to take care of you?" He rolled his eyes. "Geeze, do I have to say everything outright to you? I try to be obvious. You really just don't notice me that much still?"

"Shut up. Of course I do." It felt nice to hear him say that he wanted to take care of her. Sometimes when she looked at his sharp face and smirk she had a flashback to his younger, rounder face, laughing with her in their youth. It was still difficult to wrap her head around the idea that boy had feelings for her. That boy sought her out and thought she was kissable and wanted to hang out with her over Elsa Arendell. She wished he could still be as carefree as he had been back then.

She inwardly scolded herself for being so dumb when he was sitting here looking like a ghost and drinking potion just to stay normal. She reached up and ran her fingers through his hair. His skin was colder than she'd ever felt it. She tried not to let her worry show on her face in the way he didn't like. "You're the idiot if you think a girl will read your mind. You have to say things out loud."

"You read my mind today," he said with a shrug.

She frowned. "Eh? When? I didn't see you all day until now."

He shifted on the bed so he was facing her better, his fingers laced through hers. "When you showed up in the hall and took my hand. I'm not gonna lie, sometimes I just want you to appear out of nowhere so I can burry my face in your hair and not come out until I'm cured. But you probably think that's pretty pathetic, right? You'd tell me ta tuffen ahp yoo woosy boy." He laughed, but she didn't.

Maybe. Maybe she might have said that before. Mostly because she would have been embarrassed to have a boy say that to her. She would never say that now. Not to Jack. Especially when she had been feeling the same way earlier that day—she'd wanted nothing more than for him to hold her, as if he could somehow take away her horrible feelings. But she couldn't tell him that now. He didn't need to know about her problems.

Jack didn't have to be strong enough for her right now, but she did have to be strong enough for him.

She scooted forward and wrapped an arm around his neck. He leaned against her, his breath still a bit smokey and warm on her shoulder. "I'm sorry," he said again.

She didn't have a response. She didn't know how to comfort him. Maybe Elsa would have. But Merida was the one he had said he wanted, right? So she'd just have to hold him for a while. She closed her eyes to keep from staring at the snowstorm outside, and just focused on keeping herself from choking up again. His cheek was crisp against her skin, and she knew from experience the last couple months that no matter how long she held him he wouldn't warm up.


	7. Chapter 7

Today was a good day.

Today, Jack was with everyone for "study" (lunch) in the library for the first time in a while. Today, Jack was laughing like he hadn't laughed in weeks and Merida couldn't see the shadows as dark under his eyes. Today, Jack almost seemed like the old Jack.

"Are you kidding me?" Hiccup was saying through a mouthful of plum tarts, which Rapunzel had provided in honor of the approaching Christmas holidays. "Ballet?"

"I swear on Merlin's beard it's true," Jack said with a grin, his right hand solemnly raised in the air.

"I don't believe it," Astrid said, stubbornly shaking her head.

"It's true!" Jack insisted. "Would I lie about this?"

"Yes," Merida said flatly. She picked up another tart from the plate on the table, careful not to drop crumbs on the Potions homework in front of her. So far, only one question was filled in.

Jack turned to her with a glare and bumped her elbow off the table as she went to take a bite, causing her to drop the treat into her lap. She scowled back at him, but it was just for show. She was nearly over the moon with how alive he looked today. He could drop a vat of pumpkin juice over her head and she'd still want to kiss his laughing lips. Besides, beneath the table his knee was gently touching hers, and when the others weren't looking he glanced back at her with a flirty look that she hadn't seen in a while. To keep from blushing or dragging him away to kiss his face, she ate plum tarts instead. She was on her sixth one.

"He could be telling the truth," Rapunzel said nicely, shrugging one shoulder.

"Don't bother trying to defend him," Merida said. "It'll just encourage his lying habit."

"Ok, normally, yes," Jack admitted. "But this time I'm serious. He does ballet."

The group turned in unison to the subject of their conversation. Down an aisle thirty feet away was Professor Tallen, silently and sternly inspecting the spines of the books. The dark skinned, bald, scarred professor was in black dress pants, and an emerald dress shirt that was so dark it was nearly black. The head of Slytherin House was certainly lean, and Merida supposed he was quite muscular beneath his well-fitting clothes. But she didn't know if she could picture the frightening man dancing across a stage in tights.

Professor Tallen suddenly looked in their direction, and the group quickly turned away from him.

"There's no way," Astrid muttered again, skeptical eyes on Jack.

Jack shrugged. "If you want you can ask Elsa. She'll vouch for me."

Merida pretended that she didn't see Rapunzel's eyes flick towards her when Jack said the Arendell girl's name. Rapunzel had picked up on Merida's unease towards Elsa shortly after Jack had ended up in the infirmary a week ago. Since then, there had been whispers in the halls—had Jack and Elsa had a falling out? No, they couldn't have. They were the perfect couple and still seemed the same as always. But, then, what had that Dunbroch girl been doing, taking Jack away from Elsa when he was ill? Was she challenging Elsa's relationship with Jack? No, couldn't be. Must be a misunderstanding.

More than once Merida had almost found herself rounding on the whisperers and hotly declaring that  _she_  was in fact Jack's girlfriend,  _not_  Elsa. But she had bit her tongue. That would have just escalated the rumors and gossip, and she didn't need the extra stress, nor did Jack and Elsa. Not with the blizzard getting worse and worse outside. So bad, in fact, that the roof of Ravenclaw tower had been damaged, and Rapunzel and her roommates were now sharing a room with the fifth years. Rapunzel was bedmates with Anna Arendell, but she said that the little sister didn't know anything about Elsa's thoughts on Jack, other than that they were "very close".

"Wow," Rapunzel said, sneaking a peek at Professor Tallen again. The teacher had returned to his book, and the others discreetly looked over at him as well. Rapunzel continued, "Who knew a Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher could also be a ballerina."

"Balleri _no_ ," Jack corrected. "He's a boy, Punz."

This caused another round of snickering across the table, which they tried very hard to hide as Professor Tallen crossed the floor, passing their table on his way to the checkout. He nodded at Jack.

"Professor," Jack greeted calmly. He waited until the man was barely out of earshot before he said to the others, "Look at that beautiful heel-toe way he walks. Sashay, sashay, sashay."

Merida almost spat her tart out, but barely clapped a hand over her mouth before she lost it. The others were giggling and shushing each other, and Hiccup had a tear in his eye he was silently laughing so hard.

The conversation went on to discuss the Italian way to pronounce  _ballerino_ , hand gestures included, and the differences between ballet in the magic world and ballet in the muggle world, which Jack knew too much about and had to suffer merciless teasing as a result.

Hiccup excused himself twenty minutes later to help Hagrid feed the magical creatures cooped up in his office. Astrid excused herself at the same time to turn in a paper that was late. Both of them nudged Jack on their way out and told him he should come around more often, to which he whole-heartedly agreed. As soon as they were gone, Jack propped his chin up on his palm, turning a smile on Merida. She pursed her lips to keep from smiling back, finishing her tart as demurely as was possible for her. Beneath the table Jack's fingers found hers.

"Ew. Oh my gosh," Rapunzel rolled her eyes in exasperation. "Please, for the love of us all, get out of here." She picked up a book and buried her nose in it. They grinned at her until she looked up at them and waved them away with a hand. "Go on. Shoo, shoo."

They were on their feet and heading out of the library before Merida knew it, but she tried to ignore the guilt in the back of her mind over leaving her homework unfinished. Again.

She walked contentedly beside Jack through the hall, keeping up with his cheerful pace and smiling at anyone he greeted. It took all her willpower not to hold his hand when his fingers kept grazing against hers. Kristoff passed by them, laughing too loudly with his grilfriend Anna, who was tucked under his large arm. He called out to Merida, who shouted back at him, and he saluted her while Anna giggled.

Grinning, Merida turned back to Jack, only to see him looking down at her with an impish smile.

"What?" she said, narrowing her eyes.

"Nothing," he replied innocently. Then he pushed her shoulder with his. She pushed back, a little harder. He took a step into her, nearly shoving her over, and she stumbled into another student.

"Sorry," she quickly apologized. Jack's laughter echoed behind her and she spun on him. "Oi!"

He laughingly hurried away from her and she chased after him, following when he jumped over the lap of a seventh-year girl sitting on a bench, and dodging between a group of second year boys. He rounded a corner, and a second later she followed, only to be yanked from the main hall into a narrow alcove. The tapestry that hung over it fell back into place, and Merida blinked in the dimmer light up at Jack, who grinned down at her with a silent laugh.

She pushed him lightly, just to remind him that he wasn't getting away with teasing her. He only chuckled, leaning down and pulling her into a kiss. His cold nose and fingertips brushed her warm cheeks pleasantly, and she was glad he didn't feel as painfully icy as usual. But she knew why—that morning he'd taken his rageweed potion, which Toothiana had suggested they up the dose again. Even the double dose they had upped it to last week wasn't working as well. So as glad as she was that Jack seemed to be feeling all right today, she wished it wasn't because he had taken three doses of a very powerful potion. And his energy and mood might only last a day or two before he needed it again.

Merida didn't think about that now. Right now she just let herself feel happy and safe and a bit mischievous behind the tapestry that was the only thing keeping them from being found out by the entire student body. Besides, it had been a while since Jack had kissed her like this, and her involuntary full-body response surprised her. It didn't seem to surprise Jack, though. He just held her tighter, not minding at all that she seemed to be attacking him in a small niche while their classmates unwittingly walked by.

It was a while before she was aware that her fingers were going numb and she could feel a chill seeping through her sweater from his chest. She ignored it. It didn't bother her. Her heart was beating fast enough to keep her from feeling the cold too much. But she couldn't stop the jump when she felt his freezing fingers sneak beneath her sweater and press against the warm, bare skin of her lower back.

Jack pulled back, and Merida could see her breath in a misty cloud between them. She looked up at his pale face that nearly glowed in the filtered light through the tapestry. His eyes searched hers, and she felt the sinking weight of disappointment when his arms fell from around her. She tightened her hold on his neck stubbornly.

"What's wrong?" she said, pretending she didn't know.

"You're cold," he said.

"I'm fine."

He let out a small sigh, leaning back against the wall resignedly, but at least he didn't push her away. "Your face is all pink. You have goosebumps."

"Yeah? Probably because I'm snogging a pretty boy in a secret alley at school."

He snorted, a smiling pulling at his lips. "I wish that were the only reason. It's alright—we should head to class anyway."

She was about to argue more, but the coolness of his expression made her stop. She knew that look. He had already made up his mind, and no amount of arguing from her would change it. That, of course, made her want to fight, but she bit her tongue, knowing that wouldn't get her what she wanted. Instead, she softened her expression and slid her hands from around his neck to rest against his jaw. Today was a good day. The last thing she wanted to do was waste it.

"Please, Jack," she pleaded, "Not yet. I want to stay with you a little longer."

She had him, then. She saw the emotion in his eyes flicker and change, his eyebrows drawing together. He leaned forward, so close she fully expected him to kiss her again, but at the last second he just smiled.

"Ok," he said. "I want to stay with you, too." Then he pulled back and she blinked when he slid his wand from his sleeve. He sat down, pulling her by the arm to sit in front of him. "I've been meaning to try this spell, anyway."

She watched as he pressed the tip of his wand against the sleeve of her sweater, muttering under his breath. "What spell is this, then?" she asked. "If my clothes disappear, I will deck you."

A short laugh escaped him, but he didn't pause in his chanting. After a minute, Merida realized she couldn't feel the cold of his hand through her sweater. In fact, she couldn't feel the cool stones beneath her, either. Her clothes were heating up all over. Jack pulled his wand away and redirected it at his own sleeve, repeating the spell. Merida ran her hands along the fabric of her clothes, feeling her skin sting as it began to warm up again.

"There," Jack said when he had finished, patting his shirt with a triumphant smile. "Nice and warm."

They looked at each other for half a second before Merida moved forward, practically sitting on his lap as she wrapped her arms around him and leaned her cheek against his chest. He folded his arms around her and shifted until he was leaning comfortably against the wall. His shirt was warm. His arms were warm, at least where they were covered by his robes. It was less than a minute before she was completely cozy. Her eyes even started to get heavy in the heated haze she seemed to be enveloped in, and the soothing rhythm of Jack's steady heartbeat. She'd never experienced this before. She'd imagined something like this a thousand times in her life, only with Hiccup instead. By the time she had begun dating Jack, his Frost Giant blood was already affecting him so much that his hugs were never very warm, and they had only gotten colder. In the last few weeks, he had refrained from even putting his arm around her when they were together. Now he held her tightly, his cool breath refreshing on the top of her head, though he was careful not to let his skin touch hers.

"Why haven't you done this before?" she asked, too comfy to sound mad.

"I didn't know how before. It's a new spell."

"What? Another one? How are you so good at Charms? Do you just secretly study Charms at night in your dorm so you can do lots of cool tricks to be Mr. Cool-Who-Can-Do-Any-Spell-No-Sweat? Your whole easy-going façade is a lie, isn't it?" She could feel the rumble in his chest when he laughed.

"It's not a secret that I study Charms. I like Charms. They're useful. You might know some too if you ever cracked open a textbook," he said.

"Hrnnnn…." She was definitely never going to admit how many times she had done just that in an attempt to keep up with him.

"Although, not this particular spell. The basics of it I read in our textbook last year, but I had to tweak it to make it do what I wanted."

"What? You made up this spell?"

"Not entirely."

"What the bloody hell…is this some Frost Giant thing? Are you some wizard genius?"

"Compared to you, yeah."

She smacked a fist against his chest, a little harder than was probably necessary, and he grunted.

"I'm kidding, I'm kidding," he said, squeezing his arms around her. "I'm sure you could do it, too. I'll teach you if you want."

She nodded. It would be a useful spell for dating a half Frost Giant, not to mention for anytime she had to face the bitter cold. She'd never be miserable outside again. Maybe she'd even enjoy going out to play with her brothers in the snow. Jack really was sort of a genius. She'd tell him that another time when it wouldn't go right to his head.

Her only hesitancy about him teaching her the spell was the fear that she might not be able to do it. She'd never been good at charms, and right now she was failing so badly, Professor Flitwick had started pulling her aside from all the other students and giving her "special" assignments—third year remedial work. It was embarrassing. It was depressing. It was a secret. Especially from Jack.

She regretted thinking about it. This was such a comfortable place, here with Jack, but now she felt the stress swirling around her head again, clutching at her chest. Maybe Professor Tallen would let her do makeup lessons for Defense Against the Dark Arts. Would she still have time to finish that Potions homework she had left with Rapunzel in the library? If she asked really, really nicely, Professor Longbottom might withhold her report card that term from her parents while she at least tried to raise her grades to a measly Acceptable. Christmas at home would be hell otherwise.

She was startled when Jack shook her slightly.

"What?" she asked.

"I thought you were falling asleep. I asked you what you want for Christmas?"

"Oh. Uh." She closed her eyes for a second, trying to shake off her anxious thoughts and focus on him again. "A Hollyhead Harpies' jacket."

"Ha! Of course you want that. Don't you already have two?"

"Yeah, but not one with the new logo on it. It's a throwback edition, the same design from the 1967 Quidditch World Cup. Oh, but you don't have to get it. It's expensive. I'm sure my dad will get it for me." No, he wouldn't. She'd be lucky to get anything other than socks from her parents with how furious they probably were at her right now.

"No, I'll get it for you. I've got all this money burning in my pocket since we've been banned from Hogsmeade until the storm passes." He didn't say it, but they both knew that Pitch wouldn't be gone anytime soon.

"How are you going to get this jacket, then?"

"I've got ways."

She pushed away from him so she could give him an incredulous look.

"What?" he said with a shrug. "You doubt Drago? He can literally fly through any storm."

Jack's beast of an owl  _was_  daunting. "If that's true, then we ought to send him right after Pitch. He'd probably scare the wits out of him and send him running back to Siberia."

Jack laughed, and she loved the sound of it. It sounded healthy and carefree. She missed that laugh. She missed him like this. Which seemed silly, to miss a person she saw nearly every day. But it wasn't the same. He wasn't.

She realized she had spaced out again when she was startled by something cool against her cheek.

"Sorry," Jack said, pulling his hand back. Her heart constricted at the guilty look on his face. She caught his hand and lifted it back to her cheek.

"It's ok," she said. "I'm warm now. It feels good."

He gently pressed his palm against her cheek, carefully brushing his thumb over her freckles. She closed her eyes.

"Are you doing all right?" he asked.

"Hmm?"

"With everything. With me. I know it's not easy. I can't exactly be myself right now. Are you…doing ok?"

She opened her eyes to meet his blue ones. "I'm fine," she said with a smile, which was her answer every time he asked. How could she ever say anything different? She wouldn't burden him with anything else. Besides, her problems were minuscule compared to his. She continued smiling, hoping he wouldn't see through it like he so often did. She couldn't exactly turn away from him in that small space without it being completely obvious.

"Hm." As she thought, he didn't look convinced. He seemed about to ask her another question, and she panicked. If he pried too far, she'd be forced to lie, and he knew better than anyone what a horrible liar she was. So she leaned forward and kissed him.

He kissed her back, softly and sweetly and much slower than when they had first entered the alcove. It was different but just as good, and left Merida feeling even warmer in her charmed clothes. The kiss didn't last very long, but when he pulled away she couldn't help but be left smiling.

He was still close, his nose touching hers, his fingers in her hair. A small, solemn smile was on his lips. Then he said quietly, "I love you, Merida."

She heard him clearly, but it was a full ten seconds before she realized that was supposed to mean something important. Then her heart jumped into a sprint.

Jack Frost loved her. Oh, Merlin's beard, Jack Frost was in love with her. He loved her. Over everyone else that he could possibly love, he loved her. Dear sweet Dark Lord, he was in love with her.

She was happy. She wanted to melt right back into his arms and cry. Who cared about her grades and everyone whispering about Elsa Arendell and the giants in the forest outside? Everything would be fine.

She needed to say it back. She opened her mouth and inhaled and…nothing came out. The breath was caught in her chest. She couldn't say it. Why couldn't she say it? But she knew why. She was still unsure about her feelings. She cared about Jack. Bloody hell, did she care about him. He was so important to her—she'd give him her right arm, both arms, if he needed them. She loved him.

But did she  _love_  him?

How could she say it when she didn't know? That wouldn't be fair. Not when Hiccup could still catch her off guard and make her heart skip when she wasn't paying attention. It didn't happen as often, hardly at all, but when it did she couldn't deny it. It had happened just two days ago, when Hiccup had snuck up behind her with a friendly hand on the small of her back. She'd been flustered, although she hadn't meant to be. Jack had been there. Bloody hell, she had felt a knife of guilt pierce her when she'd looked over and seen Jack's eyes flick from Hiccup to her. He'd seen her reaction. He knew her heart was still recovering from years of belonging to Hiccup.

But still. She wished she could say she loved Jack. She wished she could make the world turn again, since it seemed to have screeched to a halt in the last thirty seconds. But she couldn't. So, he did it for her.

"It's ok," he said, pulling further away, his hands falling from her hair. "I don't need you to say it back. I just wanted to say it out loud. I wanted to make sure you knew that I cared about you, and that I'm really, really glad you're my friend. Thank you for not caring that I'm a half-blood who is potentially dangerous, and for being with me anyway. It makes me really happy, Merida."

She took his hand and squeezed it, finding her voice again. "Of course. I care about you, too, Jack."

He smiled, and it was such a mixture of sincerity and caring and sadness and weariness that her heart felt like breaking. How could he look so sad? This boy needed someone to love him more than anyone right now. How could she not say it? She wanted to say it. But again, it was caught in her throat.

He stood up, helping her up by the hand.

"We really ought to get to class now," he said, his voice snapping back to his flippant tone. He pushed aside the tapestry and stepped out, pulling her with him. "You don't need any more reason to be skipping class than you already do, and you can't be pinning it on me just because I'm a Prefect."

"You skip just as often. Probably even more so."

"Well, I  _am_  a Prefect," he said, straightening his tie pompously.

She forgot to smile, or even roll her eyes.

He dropped the act and said softly, "Don't worry about what I said, Mer. It wasn't meant as something to stress you out."

"No, I know." She gave him her best effort at a smile. It was probably more of a wince.

He leaned forward and kissed her on the forehead as though to say all was well. He had to be lying. Right?

"I'll see you at dinner, ok?" he said, and stepped away with a two-fingered salute before heading down the hall.

Merida went the opposite direction, more because she knew she was supposed to be going somewhere than because she knew where. She kept walking, deftly maneuvering through the students who were exiting their classrooms and filling the hallways with chatter.

She wasn't aware of thinking anything or feeling anything, until she noticed her clothes weren't staying warm anymore. Then the thought struck her: she hadn't even asked Jack what  _he_  wanted for Christmas.

She noticed her vision was blurry when she stepped on the too-long robe of a first year, almost tripping him. The student told her to watch it before walking away, but she didn't respond. She stood where she was, tears spilling down her cheeks. She couldn't stop them. She couldn't care to stop them. She couldn't even pinpoint exactly why she was crying—a thousand thoughts twisted inside her head, and she couldn't pull them apart to control any of them.

"Merida!"

She recognized the scratch in that deep voice but it wasn't until a pair of strong hands grabbed her shoulders that she was jolted from her spiraling thoughts. She looked up into Hiccup's worried face. He glanced around the hall, then quickly lead her away, practically pushing her to get her to walk. They passed a few staring students and a ghost, who inquired in an old-fashioned accent if the young miss was ok. Merida was vaguely aware of Hiccup insisting she was fine before leading her away.

Once Hiccup was satisfied there weren't too many people around, he stopped and turned to Merida.

"Merida, what's wrong?" he asked. "I've never seen you cry at school—actually I've  _never_  seen you cry. What's wrong? Are you sick? Is it your family? Rapunzel?"

The tears were coming faster, and now thick sobs were forcing their way out of her throat. She shook her head, not able to say anything. He put a calming hand on her shoulder.

"It's ok, Mer. You can talk to me," he said.

She met his brown eyes through her watery blue ones. Then she crouched down, crying into her knees, and she told him _everything_.

And even with his warm arm around her, she couldn't help but feel her heart cold and aching for a sad boy somewhere in the school, who loved her for who-knew what reason.


	8. Chapter 8

Merida had no idea what Hiccup's reactions were to everything she said. She was too busy wiping at her tears over and over and pushing her hair out of her face to look at him, too busy trying to calm her breathing to listen to his tone. For the most part he was silent, although he did ask a question now and then.

She didn't know if she could have held anything back from him, not in her current state. So, she told him about Flenna and the Frost Giants, about Pitch and the storm, about Jack and his symptoms, about Elsa Arendell and failing her classes, and about herself and Jack. That was the only reaction she really noticed—she felt Hiccup shift in surprise when she admitted to secretly dating Jack for the last two months. She didn't, however, tell Hiccup about the conversation she had just had with Jack, that Jack had said he loved her, and that she hadn't known what to say back. Somehow, that was the only thing that didn't spill out of her.

When she had finished, Hiccup sat quietly beside her, his arm still around her. She cried until she was too tired to cry anymore. Then she just leaned against Hiccup's shoulder and stared at the cracks in the stone walls, not bothering to worry about the portraits who were whispering about her.

After a while she heard the sound of students passing through the halls. Merida pushed herself away from Hiccup and got up on shaky feet. Why was she so sore? Crying shouldn't make her whole body tired like this. Hiccup helped her up with a steady hand on her shoulders. It was nearly dinner, and absently Merida remembered that she had missed the rest of her classes, and made Hiccup miss his, too. Hiccup walked her up to her dorm, and just before the Gryffindor entrance she turned back to him, pathetically tugging on his sleeve.

"Don't tell anyone what I said," she said.

"I won't," he responded. Then he put both his hands on her shoulders, leaning down so he was looking her in the eye. He had that look on his face, like he was about to tackle a problem head on until he had conquered it, a little scrunch between his thick eyebrows. She loved that look, but it had never been directed at her before. "Don't worry, Merida. Everything's going to be ok. I'm going to help you and Jack. So don't cry anymore, ok?"

She nodded, and despite being so tired from crying she felt another surge of emotion. She wanted to hug him, but if she did she knew she would lose it again. So instead she turned and went into her dorm, feeling his calculating gaze on her back as the portrait of the Fat Lady swung shut.

Everyone had gone down to dinner, thank goodness. She slowly ascended the stairs to the girl's dorm and sat down on the edge of her bed. Outside the gilded windows, ice covered the glass, almost two inches thick now. Wind howled as it carried snow across the outside of the castle walls, searching every crack as though seeking a way inside. Merida stared out the window blankly. Then she laid down and fell into the heaviest sleep that she'd had in weeks.

* * *

She had never dreamed that telling Hiccup everything would relieve such a burden off of her. Thinking that keeping it all a secret was for the best now seemed silly. Obviously, including people who were intelligent and highly invested would increase their chances of helping Jack, right? She felt bad for going behind Jack's back, of course, but after Hiccup's gentle comforting she couldn't believe that she had done the wrong thing.

Hiccup was thrown by the information about Jack. Of course, he was. His best friend was a half-giant, and he had never known. Merida could tell in the way Hiccup looked at Jack the next day that he was seeing his old friend differently. He tried to hide it, and Merida even stepped on his toes once to remind him to act normal. He tried, but that didn't stop him from responding to Jack more awkwardly than he should have: "Yeah, yeah, I'm…fine. How are  _you_  doing? Eh, buddy?"

By the end of the day, however, Hiccup's surprise and excitement were replaced by a serious determination.

"We're studying today," Hiccup told her after dragging her to the library. "We're getting your grades up." And he spent the next three hours helping (forcing) her to finish her Astrology homework and re-do the Hogwarts History paper she had botched. All the while he had several heavy books open in front of him that he poured over while she scratched at her parchment. She didn't think anything about it until she recognized the thick leather binding of one—a book of Arctic magical creatures written by Gregor Hans Sylaman.

"Hiccup," she said, catching his attention. She licked her lips before asking, "What do you think…of Jack?"

"Of Jack? You mean," Hiccup glanced around the library too close, "About his, er, situation?"

She nodded, searching his familiar face for an answer. He scratched the patchy five o'clock on his chin but gave her a smile and a shrug.

He said, "Well, looks like we didn't know as much about him as we thought we did, huh? But I guess I can't hold it against him. I'm just sorry he didn't think he could trust me sooner. I thought we were close, even if we haven't been able to hang out as much recently."

"He was afraid you might treat him more like a magical creature than like a person," Merida said.

"Well, he sort of  _is_  a magical creature. I mean, as far as wizard history knows he's a complete anomaly, and Merlin's beard, can you imagine what this  _means_ , what we could learn…" He trailed off when he saw her gesture toward him violently. He winced. "All right, I understand why he might say that. But you, and eventually he, should know that he's still my friend, and always will be. What's in his blood isn't going to change who he is or what he means to me. He's a person, a wizard, and our friend before he is anything else, and since that's the part that Pitch supposedly hates about him, we're just going to have to do whatever we can to help."

She couldn't stop herself from leaning over and wrapping her arms around his neck. "Thank you, Hiccup. I'm so glad you're here."  _I'm so glad I don't have to do this alone anymore._ He hugged her back, like he had when they were little kids, like he hadn't in years, and again she almost felt like crying.

He said softly, "I'm sorry you were dealing with this on your own. It's obviously affecting you almost as much as him."

She pulled away with a noncommittal shrug. She might have been failing some classes, but that still seemed minuscule in comparison to Jack's issues. Her heart missed a beat when Hiccup took her hand. She was surprised at its warmth. She swallowed hard.

He said, "It's ok, Merida. We'll help Jack. And you, too."

She nodded, too uncomfortable to say anything else. He let her hand go with a little pat.

"Although, more surprising than anything," Hiccup said with a dry, sidelong look at her, "Is the fact that you've been dating him for _weeks_ without me knowing. I  _knew_  something was weird with you two! I can't believe no one told me. Aren't I your oldest friend? How did that even happen? Did you lose a bet? Did he bump his head and forget who you were? Didn't you swear that he was the last guy on earth you would ever like?"

This was the first time that Hiccup had addressed the subject of her and Jack's relationship, and she didn't know how she would handle the teasing if it was coming from him.

"Shut it! I'm not telling you, of all people!" She stood up, tossing her quill on the table. "I'm getting more ink."

"Aw, look at how red you are!" he called after her, a smile in his voice. "Don't take too long—I'm not finishing this paper for you!"

* * *

Much to her relief, Hiccup didn't tease her about Jack after that. In fact, Hiccup threw himself headlong into the study of Frost Giants, half-breeds, and magic that was different than wizard or witch magic, and Merida found he didn't care to talk about much else. He'd always been like that, so focused on his projects, and now she was really grateful for it.

Having an ally was a huge confidence booster. There was a returned spring to Merida's step now that she didn't feel like she was the  _only_  lifeline for Jack, now that she wasn't burdened by the heavy secret she felt unqualified to fix. If Jack looked weary, or if Elsa was seen walking with her arm in his and a worried look on her face, or Jack was late coming back from the infirmary, Merida had someone to share a glance with, someone to worry alongside her. During the two weeks before Christmas, it was a great support to Merida, and she was able to be more energetic with Jack.

Her grades were also improving. Her Care of Magical Creatures essay had been re-submitted to Hagrid under the pretense that Hiccup had found it under the desk and it must not have been graded. Her Potions exam had gone better than expected (in that nothing blew up in her face) and Professor Longbottom told her that with a little studying, she would be able to pass Herbology with an Acceptable. Hiccup was working on a way to approach Professor Tallen for Defense Against the Dark Arts, and there was still no chance she was passing Charms, but Merida felt better. Perhaps now her parents wouldn't lock her up forever when she went home for the holidays. Maybe now they wouldn't burn her broomstick or something.

Besides all that, she was glad to have Hiccup back in her life. It had been ages since they had snuck around with whispers about secrets that no one else knew, but there was a glaring difference: Jack wasn't there to help them execute their next idea. He couldn't be, not yet, but Merida was determined to change that. She also felt a tinge of guilt toward Rapunzel, whom she almost spilled everything to more than once, but she couldn't justify telling Jack's secret twice without him giving her permission. She didn't want to betray his trust any more than was necessary.

That didn't stop Rapunzel from being as observant as always.

"You're hanging around Hiccup a lot the last few days," Rapunzel said to Merida at lunch one day. "What's that about?"

"He's helping me fix my grades," Merida said, taking a big bite out of pumpkin pie. "I need a miracle, but he's trying."

"Oh. Good. So the three of you must be working hard."

"Three of us?"

"You, Hiccup, and…Jack. Right?" Rapunzel raised a thin eyebrow that made Merida pause and drop whipped cream from her fork.

"Eh, no, Jack's not there," Merida said.

"So…it's just you and Hiccup? No Astrid, either?"

At her friend's tone, Merida put her fork down and sat up straighter. "Uh...uh-huh."

Rapunzel's eyes were narrowed slightly, the greens in them popping against the festive red dress she wore. It was only ten days before Christmas break now, and Rapunzel was pulling out her more colorful outfits in preparation. She looked pretty, even if she was glaring and crossing her arms. On her shoulder, the perfect pine green to contrast Rapunzel's dress, sat her chameleon Pascal, who was shaking his head at Merida disapprovingly.

"You're hanging out with  _Hiccup_? Alone?" Rapunzel demanded.

"Uh. Yes," Merida replied.

"And Jack's really ok with that?"

Merida's heart almost stopped and she quickly glanced around, making sure Jack wasn't around and no one else was listening. "Well…Jack doesn't…know."

"You're hanging out alone with Hiccup for hours every day and Jack doesn't  _know_?" Rapunzel gawked.

Merida shushed her, glancing at the others at the Ravenclaw table. No one was listening. They were busy laughing at Kristoff, who had wandered over from the Gryffindor table and was singing a cheerful, silly Christmas duet with Anna.

"Why are you  _shushing_  me, Merida?" Rapunzel said, leaning in close and speaking heatedly. "You only shush me when you know you're going to get in trouble! You know that what you're doing is a bad idea—"

"I'm not doing anything!" Merida insisted. "We're studying together! Nothing else! I promise!"

"Is it just that? You've got no ulterior motives or aren't in any danger at all? Are you really a hundred percent completely over Hiccup?"

"I—!" Merida searched for words, frustrated not to find any. "Crivens, it isn't like that—he's just helping me with my homework."

"Jack could help you," Rapunzel countered.

Jack could have—but he was busy focusing on fighting off his giant blood, and on top of that, Merida didn't want him to know that she was a  _total_  failure at everything, and just how angry her parents were about it. It was humiliating enough as it was, and he didn't need the extra guilt. "Jack is…busy. I don't want to bother him. And I don't want him to know I'm failing. He'll never let me live it down."

"You think he'd tease you? Really?"

"Well, I dunno!"

"Merida, I just—!" Rapunzel stopped and sighed. "I don't want you to get hung up on Hiccup again. I think Jack really likes you, Merida. I can see it in the way he looks at you."

 _I love you, Merida._  The phrase echoed throughout every cavern inside of her as it had for days. She hadn't told Rapunzel that he'd said that, afraid of crying again. She wrapped her fingers around the fabric over her heart and said, "I know he does."

"I don't want Jack to get hurt. Or Hiccup, if Jack gets upset at him. Or Astrid, either. Or you! Merida, I don't want to tell you how to think and feel, but I love you and I want you to be happy with a guy who cares about you. And there is one. You might still be getting over Hiccup, but give Jack a chance before you really hurt him! Really, give him an honest chance."

"I…yeah. I know. I don't want to hurt him either. Which is why I don't want to lie to him. I need to be sure." She met Rapunzel's eyes, and her sweet blonde friend looked back softly. "I'll be careful. I won't hurt anyone."

Rapunzel put an arm around her shoulders and squeezed briefly. "Ok. Let me know if you need anything. I can help you, too, you know."

"You do help. Thanks, Punz."

* * *

Merida couldn't help the pacing. The people in the portraits on the walls watched her go back and forth, but didn't say anything. They were probably used to such behavior outside the Headmistress' Offices.

The large golden griffin statue was already raised, the stairs exposed. That wasn't uncommon this time of year—between restless troublemakers, and students who had grade issues, Professor McGonagall's office was often left open. Merida eyed the stairs fiercely. In her hand was the note from Professor Flitwick, which apparently needed to be signed by the headmistress herself. The note said that she could take remedial classes next semester to help her catch back up and keep her from having to repeat the class seventh year. It had been Hiccup's idea, and Merida'd had to all but beg Professor Flitwick to allow it. He had signed it with a sigh, handing it back to her with a wish good luck. Now she just had to convince Professor McGonagall.

"Come on, Dunbroch, you can do this," Merida told herself as she paced. "You've done worse. No, actually, you haven't. This is the worst. I'd take a year in Azkaban over this. That woman scares the wobbledy gooks out of me." And, honestly, McGonagall was the only person who really did. The few times that Merida had stood across from the headmistress to be scolded, alongside Jack and Hiccup, and once even Rapunzel, she had felt the woman's fierce stare boring into her soul from behind her thin-framed glasses.

"All right! Come on!" she snapped, making a distinguished looking man in the painting beside her jump. She spun on her heel and stomped toward the stairs, taking them two at a time before she lost her nerve.

Her progress was halted when she found voices floating from the crack in the headmistress' door. She growled to herself and reluctantly took a seat on the bench beside the door, waiting for her turn.

Leaning her head back against the wall she closed her eyes and let her mind wander. She mentally ran over a list of assignments that she had to finish in the next three days before Christmas break. Hiccup had her on a tight studying schedule, which he only allowed to be derailed when he miraculously found a snippet of information in an obscure library book about Frost Giants. He'd had no luck for a while, but it had gotten better when he'd stopped searching for giants and started searching for "shadows". Then he started finding vague references to the Frost Giants everywhere—the black shadow, the ice man, the night shades of the north…He hadn't found anything extremely useful yet, but he optimistically claimed it was only a matter of time. Merida believed him.

In the meantime, she focused on her homework, and on seeing Jack. Professor Tallen had taken him off Prefect rounds last week.

"I'm fine," Jack had told her tiredly, "But he thinks it might be better if I take it easy. Maybe I won't burn through the potion as quickly." Merida agreed with Professor Tallen's decision, but she didn't say as much to Jack. He did seem to have more energy now that he wasn't monitoring the halls or chasing after troublesome first years, which she was glad of. He even joined them for dinner almost every night this week, even though he admittedly felt guilty about leaving Elsa to do all the work. Elsa was fine, in Merida's opinion. She looked tired, but somehow, Pitch being basically outside their front doors wasn't bothering the silent Slytherin girl nearly as much anymore. Jack, on the other hand, was practically a ghost now-a-days.

With Hiccup's being around and assuring her he was coming very close to something that could help Jack, Merida had almost forgotten about the winter break coming up. Now it was only a few days away, and then she would be saying goodbye to Jack and leaving him here by himself for two weeks. The thought made her sick. What would he be reduced to by the time she got back? A snowman? She hated thinking about it. She wished she could sneak him out of here with her, but that was just a silly dream. He was safest here. He had to stay, even if it meant she couldn't be with him when he needed her.

She began to drift off to sleep a bit, and in her daze, she accidentally slipped into a memory of Jack. It wasn't uncommon. His blue eyes and smirk constantly popped into her head without her having to call them out; this particular memory was of two nights ago, when he had told her that her present had come, but she couldn't see it until just before leaving for the break. She had whined and moaned and he had laughed and kissed her and told her no, he wasn't giving in. She had to wait. She had then pouted until he kissed her again, soft and cold and delicious.

The sound of Jack's name out loud made her open her eyes. She blinked at the wall opposite her, where the golden griffin was staring back at her, and wondered if she was imagining things. Then the low voice of Professor Tallen drifted through the crack in the door.

"He is not dangerous," Professor Tallen said, voice raised. "Jack Frost is a student at Hogwarts, just like the rest."

"Yes, but he  _isn't_ like the rest," came the heated response, a man's voice that Merida didn't recognize. "He has summoned a fleet of Frost Giants who are  _at this very moment_  surrounding Hogwarts and attacking its borders—"

"Keep your voice down, Mathias," Professor McGonagall cut in, her voice dangerously low. "You will watch how you speak within my school."

Merida stood from her bench and inched closer, tilting her ear toward the open door, her heart beating soundlessly in her throat.

"Forgive me, headmistress," Mathias said, "But it is not a secret. You have had our first unit of aurors deployed around the school for protection for almost a month! And at no small cost! If Captain Weasley hadn't shown up right when he had, Commander Potter would have—"

"Mr. Potter and Mr. Weasley volunteered their services. They did not need the permission of the Ministry," McGonagall said sternly. "Their team knew full well what they were getting into. And Mr. Potter is fine. He was hardly in St. Mungo's for a day."

Mathias spluttered, "A day! Harry Potter! A day is long enough!"

"He's had much worse, I assure you," McGonagall said flatly. "He is back with his team this very moment, keeping the school safe."

"That's exactly what I am saying! We are risking the lives of our best aurors to protect the school and its students for  _one boy_ , and now you are saying that you are going to close the school, not allowing any students to return, which I can't say I disagree with, considering the circumstances, but for what? A half-breed orphan who doesn't even realize how much trouble we're going through—"

Merida's fingers clenched together as rage filled her chest, but Professor Tallen cut in like a hiss before Mathias could go on.

" _Jack Frost_  is fully aware,  _sir_. Despite what you may think, he is an excellent student. I do not doubt that he knew the aurors were there the day they came. And as of this morning, he has been informed of the headmistress' intentions to close the school after the winter break and take him away, and he agreed wholeheartedly to it."

Professor Tallen's words hit Merida like lightning, and not just because that was the most she'd ever heard him speak at one time. Her palms were beginning to sweat. She unclenched her fingers, trying to keep her focus on the voices on the other side of the door. The room had grown quieter after Professor Tallen's sharp words, and Merida had to risk leaning closer in order to hear.

"Yes, yes, I'm sure he did," Mathias said with a resigned calm, "I didn't mean to…I'm quite sure he is a nice boy, and I do feel for him, but you must understand. There are nearly a thousand students at this school! And one of the most powerful creatures of dark magic is literally knocking on the door! We have kept this from their families long enough, but we cannot justify it any longer, nor will it be a secret when we have to close the school!"

"Calm yourself, Mathias," McGonagall huffed. "We by no means intend for it to be a permanent closure. We certainly aren't going to keep Mr. Frost here prisoner for the rest of his life, with a small army of Frost Giants living in the forest nearby. On the contrary. This is  _my_  school, and I  _certainly_  won't be allowing anyone or anything to harass my students or those who watch over them under my watch. In two days, the efforts of the aurors will be channeled into creating a secure exit for all of the students, and once they are safely gone, the school will be closed  _temporarily_. We'll say there's a delay of the train due to weather or something of the sort. You can decide. That's your area, Mathias, not mine." Mathias tried to say something but McGonagall went on, "Then the aurors will help remove Mr. Frost from the school to a safer location further south, where he will be in the care of his guardian, North Sylaman. It will be to the discretion of the aurors what the protocol for his protection is to be then. Mr. Potter has assured me his empathies are with Mr. Frost, and he plans to be extremely cautious. Then, once the Frost Giants have moved on, we will reopen the school. It is as simple as that."

Mathias was grumbling to himself. "Simple, you say…And the faculty is on board with this?"

"They have been made aware of the situation, yes. If you have any brighter ideas of how to best keep everyone safe, including Mr. Frost, please, enlighten us. Perhaps you have some secret method to fight off the Frost Giants yourself?"

The room was quiet.

Then Mathias burst out exasperatedly, "Alright, yes! Fine! But if the Minister presses me, I'm sending her to you for answers."

"Hmph," was all McGonagall said in response.

The conversation turned to exactly how the aurors were going to create safe passage for the students leaving, and they referred to Professor Tallen's Defense Against the Dark Arts expertise. Merida stayed a few more minutes to see if anything else important was said, but even if there had been, she wasn't really listening. Her head was spinning too much already.

She left the stairwell, heading quickly back to the main levels of the school. She scanned the crowds, searching for Jack's black and emerald robes, his shock of white blond hair, his sharp profile, anything. She almost didn't notice Hiccup until he was standing right in front of her.

"So, how did it go?" he asked. "Did McGonagall sign it?"

Merida stared at him blankly for a moment, before remembering the paper in her hand. "Oh. No. Have you seen Jack?"

"Jack? Uh, not since the Great Hall. He was going to look for you, but Elsa caught him at the door, so he must have gone with her. What happened with Professor McGonagall?"

Merida turned, looking down the hall. Students walked passed, talking excitedly about winter break and their families, exchanging small gifts. But no Jack. She struck out in the direction of the Slytherin dorms, not hearing Hiccup's questions or registering that he was following after her.

She spotted Jack from the top of a staircase, standing next to Elsa while they spoke to a pouting Slytherin kid.

"Jack!" Merida called, too loudly, probably, but she didn't care. He turned with Elsa as Merida stopped in front of them.

"What's up, Mer?" Jack said, eyebrows raised.

"Is there something you need to tell me?" Merida asked. When he just looked back at her, she impatiently went on, "Any conversations you had this morning that you need to talk to me about?"

Realization crossed his face. He glanced back at Elsa and the boy before taking Merida by the arm and leading her away from the larger crowds.

"How did you find out?" he said, turning to her.

"Does it matter?" she snapped fiercely.

"I—no. I guess it doesn't." He gave a little sigh. "I knew they were going to do this. I was going to tell you, but I wanted to be sure before I said anything."

"You knew  _before_?" She gaped at him. "Bloody hell, Jack! How long? When did they tell you? Were you just going to send me a note over the break as an 'oh, by the way, guess I won't be seeing you ever again' or were you going to wait and let me read about it in the paper?"

"No, no, neither of those! They didn't talk to me about it until today. It was the most logical thing for them to do, so I suspected something like this was going to happen. I knew that things weren't going to get any better just waiting, and it was only a matter of time before they realized Pitch wasn't going to give up."

"And you didn't discuss it with me because, what? I wouldn't get it? You didn't think I'd be able to handle knowing that there are a dozen aurors stomping through the snow and fighting off Frost Giants?"

"Shh!" he glanced around. "You know that's not true. I didn't tell anyone about the aurors. Professor McGonagall didn't tell anyone about them, so I figured they didn't want anyone to know, not even me, so I just kept quiet."

He stopped and she noticed the tension beneath the surface of his expression. So, he had agreed to the plan, but how did he feel about it? How did he feel knowing that he was about to be isolated from society and put on the run?

"Jack," she said more calmly, "You scaffy idiot, why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"To what end, Merida?" Jack said, his voice tight. "To let you know that everything was worse than you thought? That this week might be the last time I see you for who knows how long? That there are actually people who could die out there right now because of what I am?"

She stepped forward, lifting a hand towards him, her foolish anger dissipating at the thought that these two days might be the only time she could spend with him for a while. That hurt. More than she thought possible.

"That won't happen," she said, reaching for him like she had to grab him before he disappeared. "It will be fine. They'll keep you safe."

"I'm not worried about  _me_  being safe!" he snapped, throwing his hand to the side in anger. They both jumped when a white bolt of magic flew from his finger tips and splattered against the wall, leaving a patch of ice next to a Hufflepuff student. The student looked at the wall in surprise, then at Jack and Merida.

Then Merida and Jack were yanked back, only to find Hiccup dragging them toward a classroom door a few feet away.

"Will you two idiots at least fight somewhere more secluded?" Hiccup said, pushing them into the room. "Do you  _want_  everyone to know what's going on?" He stopped when he noticed two young girls sitting at a long desk on the other side of the room. The girls watched him with wide eyes as he hurried over to them, shooing them out of the room.

"You can't kick us out!" they insisted.

"Yes, I can," Hiccup replied, shoving them out and shutting the door.

Merida turned to Jack, only to find his icy blue eyes on her. His expression had become darker than she'd ever seen it.

"You told him?" he asked.

No.  _No._

Immediately, Hiccup realized his mistake. He walked back to them, gesturing quickly and trying to backtrack. "Well, it wasn't—I mean, ha, you see what happened—Merida didn't—" He stopped and exhaled. "I'm sorry. But I don't think any different of you, Jack. I only want to help if you'll let me."

Jack wasn't listening to him. He kept his gaze on Merida, and she couldn't look away. His face was still passive and cool, but his eyes reflected her shock of red hair and stricken face. He didn't look better. He looked like he'd just been stabbed, then looked up to see that it was her who had done it.

She could feel her heart squeezing, as if the pain on his face was a physical hand that had reached into her to crush it. "Jack," she gasped past the tightness in her chest. "He wants to help."

"You promised," he said.

"I know I did. It was an accident."

"An accident," he repeated, his eyes unwavering on her face. "You told someone my deepest secret by  _accident_. Someone I  _specifically_  told you not to tell."

Her lips parted, by she didn't have words yet. She had to look away from him to regroup her thoughts and think of a decent explanation. The true story of her emotional breakdown might have gained his sympathy, but how could she tell him? That would hurt him, too. Would it be more or less hurt than now? She didn't know. Crivens. She was supposed to be there for him. She was supposed to help him, keep him safe, comfort him. She was failing.

Jack's voice was still cool and steady, "And I suppose I've been the subject of your secret little meetings in the library?"

Her eyes snapped back to him. The temperature in the room was dropping. She hadn't noticed, but now she breathed out a puff of white mist. Jack was looking scarier, too. His face was hard, his eyes unblinking. Blue veins were darkening beneath his skin, and shadows of purple were creeping into his eyes. His tone turned biting. "Or am I supposed to believe that you two were up to something other than that? No, probably not. Although maybe  _you_  wish you were up to something other than that."

She wanted to snap back, "what are you saying?" but she couldn't. She wasn't sure if she was furious at his accusation, or guilty that she had known spending so much alone time with Hiccup would bother him and done it anyway. Stupidly she had thought he wouldn't know. She should have known he would be looking when no one else was.

"It isn't what you think," was all she could say, barely above a whisper.

Jack didn't respond. His eyes were almost completely purple, and his glare was so intense it was frightening her. What did she do now? Was there anything she  _could_  do? How could she blame him for thinking she had ulterior motives for spending time with Hiccup? Even Rapunzel had thought that. If she explained to him that she didn't have any other motives other than to help Jack, would it sound convincing? It was the truth, but even she thought it might sound weak coming from her.

Out of the corner of her vision, Merida saw Hiccup shift. He had been standing completely still and quiet the whole time, but now he said calmly, "Really, it isn't. We were only studying."

"You stay out of this," Jack snapped, eyes still on Merida.

"Um, no," Hiccup responded, an edge sneaking into his tone. "You're my friend, and so is Merida. She's been worried sick about you; do you think it's fair to let her deal with it on her own? She wants to help, and so do I." He took a step forward, his hands up cautiously as he approached.

Jack's eyes finally pulled away from Merida to snap in Hiccup's direction. "You think you can help? What makes you an expert? Your thesis on mountain giant mating habits? Or is it all the time you've spent alone with my girlfriend?"

Hiccup frowned. "I'm your friend, Jack. I don't need any more expertise than that."

The unfeeling severity of Jack's gaze made Merida inhale sharply. He looked like he might snap. She was afraid to see what might happen if she let them continue.

"Wait, Hiccup—Jack, don't—" She took a step toward Jack, intending to throw a hand between the two boys, but immediately she lost her footing and found herself falling. Hiccup was closer, and quickly caught her by the elbows to keep her from crashing to the ground. He held her arm as she leaned heavily on him, trying to regain her footing on the slick floor beneath her. She looked down in bewilderment.

The stone floor was completely covered in ice. It extended out from beneath Jack's feet in every direction, reaching out with sharp, creeping fingers. Merida followed its path back to Jack, then looked up at his face. He was looking at the ice, too, his cold expression broken and replaced with surprise. He looked back at her. Then he squeezed his eyes shut, turning away and pinching the bridge of his nose.

Merida pulled away from Hiccup and moved forward more carefully this time. "Jack," she said. She reached out but stopped, not sure if she should touch him. "It's ok, Jack, calm down."

" _Don't_  tell me to calm down," Jack said, even while he was taking deeper breaths. A beat passed before he said, "Sorry."

She wasn't sure what he was apologizing for, but either way she quickly shook her head. "It's not your fault."

Nobody moved for another minute while Jack just breathed. When he was ready he turned back to them, his eyes bluer. "I think we should talk about this another time."

"Yeah, of course," Hiccup said. Any hint of his defiance was gone, replaced with a soothing tone. "Whenever you want to, Jack."

Jack nodded. Then, without another look at Merida, he stepped toward the door. Merida hurried after him, almost slipping on the ice a second time. He was already through the door and in the hall when she managed to grab his arm.

"Jack, I'm sorry, it's my fault," she said, emotion thick in her voice, "I know you might hate me right now, but please don't— _please_ don't shut me out. Crivens, I might only have a few days with—" She choked on the words and had to swallow. "However you want, I'll make it up to you. I swear on Merlin's beard I'll make it up to you. Please, Jack."

He still wasn't looking at her. He reached over to pull her hand from his sleeve, but he held onto it longer than he needed to. His skin was so cold it burned. She winced, but tried not to let him see. Finally, he looked back at her. There were still hints of purple among the blue of his eyes.

"Ok, Merida," he said. He squeezed her hand before letting it go. "We'll talk later." And he walked away from her.

She pulled her hand back and clenched it to her chest, partly trying to warm it up from the cold sting, and partly to remember what the pressure of his fingers felt like. Her mind was full of little else than an inner, angry rant at herself, at the whole situation, at everything beyond her control, and everything within her control that she had already screwed up. She'd told Rapunzel she would try not to hurt him, but she already had. That was the last thing Merida had wanted.

Hiccup stepped up beside her, rubbing the back of his head and looking as guilty as she felt.

"That was a little rougher than I was expecting," he said. "I've never seen him like that. I'm sorry I wasn't more useful to you, Mer."

They were silent as they looked down the hall at Jack's retreating figure. There wasn't any comfort in Hiccup's inclusion on the secret now. She swallowed against the thought that soon Jack might be further away than anyone would be able to reach. She wondered if she shouted  _I love you!_  after Jack right this second if it would make any kind of difference to anything. She wouldn't ever know. She couldn't do it. Her eyes stung.


	9. Chapter 9

That night was uneasy. She dreamt that she was playing quidditch with her team, dodging in and out of vaguely shaped opponents that reached for her with long arms. She dreamt it was snowing inside the Great Hall, but she alone had to shovel the snow out and get the door closed before the darkness snuck inside. She dreamt that she was walking through a crowd, looking for Jack; she saw her friends, but when she asked they didn't recognize Jack's name. Her searching became frantic, but the crowd of tall, shapeless purple shadows never seemed to end.

Mostly, she didn't sleep. Her mother had always told her she slept like a bear, but now it wasn't unusual to find herself lying in the blue dark, listening to the wind twist around the outside of the castle as she stared at her hanging drapes and felt her insides twist in the same rhythm. Jack had certainly turned her into an anxious mess. Yet the thought of him going away made her gut twist more painfully than ever.

"Have you talked to him yet?" Hiccup asked quietly the next morning when they had a moment to themselves.

"No. Have you?" Merida said.

"I saw him before breakfast."

"You did? Did he talk to you? What did he say?"

"He said, 'good morning, Hiccup, have you finished everything for your classes?' And then he told me that Professor Tallen has him correcting Defense Against the Dark Arts exams all day, and doesn't that suck, and geeze he wished Elsa could do it, but she had to pack for tomorrow."

Merida turned to Hiccup. He was looking down, picking at a new stain on the front of his shirt. He wasn't wearing his robe or his sweater; his sleeves were rolled up, and an old apron hung around his waist, the pockets full of food pellets for the magical creatures he helped care for. They were standing against the wall outside the Care for Magical Creatures office. Inside, Merida could hear the various calls of cooped up animals in their cages, wishing they could be outside. Hagrid's heavy footsteps thumped along as he walked along their rows of cages, slipping them pumpkin cookies and plum tarts and soothing their restless chatter.

Among the chaos of her fellow students zipping around the halls, meeting with friends and wishing happy Christmas, or having last minute conversations with professors about their grades, Merida had come there to find Hiccup. The next day after breakfast, the carriages would be loaded and the students would be off to the train station, unaware that there were aurors in the woods protecting their journey, or that there was a boy being left behind on the frozen doorstep of Hogwarts. Merida was doing her very best not to think about any of that—doing so just made her want to vomit.

Hiccup's usual level of excitable and somewhat awkward energy was replaced with a despondency. Merida was sure she looked even worse than he did. Her clothes were rumpled, her hair was out of control, and there were bags under her eyes. She hoped she wouldn't run into Rapunzel. There was no doubt that her friend would be horrified, and Merida wouldn't be able to shake her off in order to find Jack alone.

"Was that all he said?" Merida asked Hiccup.

"I tried to pull him somewhere more private to really talk to him but he stopped me. He said he wasn't ready," Hiccup answered.

"Not ready? When will he be ready? When he's off living somewhere in South America with North, and we can't get in contact with him?" She was tired. It made the emotion in her voice more manic than she liked. "We only have  _one_  day. Is he going to spend the whole thing avoiding us?"

"Maybe avoiding me, but not you. He said if I saw you, I should tell you he wanted to talk to you later."

"He did?" She perked up. "How did he say it? Was he mad?"

Hiccup shrugged. "No, not mad. Just…distant. I don't know, it was weird. He was talking like normal, but he was so uptight. It was like I was standing next to someone I hardly knew, not my best friend. He was…" He stopped picking at his shirt and put his hands behind his back. "I messed up. I should have been more careful. I should have been more straightforward with him in the first place. I wish I could have done more for him, or at least just been there for him, before we got to this point where there's nothing left to do but for him to run."

Merida turned back to the ground. She rubbed the toes of her shoes together, focusing on the small rubber sound it made rather than the sting in her eyes.

"It wasn't your fault," Merida said.

"It wasn't yours, either."

"Ha."

"I'm serious, Merida. Don't blame yourself for any of this, ok? It's not your fault. Jack was going to deal with this crazy stuff, whether or not you told me about it. He's upset now, but he'll get over it, I'm sure. He'll probably write you all the time from wherever he's going, and once North and the aurors figure out what to do about the Frost Giants, Jack will come back. He really cares about you Merida."

She was relying on her curtain of red hair to hide her face. "If he doesn't hate me now, that is."

"Jack doesn't hate you. He could never hate you. You two have been friends for years, even with all your bickering and teasing." It sounded like a smile had snuck onto Hiccup's face. "And he  _likes_  you Merida. I can see it in the way he looks at you."

She almost laughed. Hiccup had missed the way Merida had looked at him for years, but apparently he was noticing things now. She wanted to elbow him, but at the same time, it didn't feel bad to have Hiccup say he saw how Jack looked at her. That Jack openly looked at her in a way that let people know that he cared, that she was important to him. She wondered what she looked like when she looked at Jack.

"We'll figure it out, Merida," Hiccup said, pulling a hand from behind his back to take hers. He gave her fingers a little squeeze. "Don't worry."

Merida pulled her hand away almost immediately. His hand was too warm, and it felt wrong to hold. Besides, all she could think was that she didn't want anyone to see them holding hands. If someone saw, the news might get back to Jack, and the last thing she wanted was for him to get anymore wrong ideas. She didn't want to hurt him anymore than she had.

Hiccup didn't notice her quick withdrawal. Of course. He just turned back with a sigh as the sound of something being knocked to the ground came from Hagrid's office. A second later, the burly man himself poked his head out from around the corner, his graying beard littered with tiny feathers, and said, "'Iccup, can ay 'ave yer 'elp a minute—oh, Merida! 'Ow ye doing then? All packed up fer the 'olidays?" He beamed down at her, always excited to see any of his students.

Merida returned his kindly smile the best she could. She hadn't even started packing. "Yep."

Hiccup pushed away from the wall, saying to her, "We'll talk again later, ok?"

"'Appy Christmas, Merida!" Hagrid said.

She nodded and Hiccup followed Hagrid inside the office, met with another loud round of squawking and animal cries.

Merida left the wall and headed away. She wasn't sure where—she definitely wasn't going to pack, but she wasn't sure if she could see Jack yet. Should she go to Professor Tallen's office and see if he was there? Should she wait for him to find her?

She was mulling the decision over so deeply that she didn't see Astrid until she was right in front of her. Merida jumped at the blonde's bright smile looming over her.

"Merida!" Astrid said. "Just who I was looking for!"

"What?" Merida said dumbly. "You're looking for me?"

"Well, sort of. I was going to see Hiccup, but I was hoping to see you today, too! I wanted to ask you something."

"Ah, oh. Ok."

"So, my dad sent me a letter the other day about how he got tickets to the Quidditch World Cup this summer as an early Christmas present, and he told me to invite someone, so Hiccup, of course, would go, but let's face it, Hiccup's appreciation for quidditch only goes so far. So, I was hoping you would want to come!" Astrid said excitedly.

Merida blinked up at her. Her glowing smile and sun colored hair, on top of her bright yellow and black scarf almost hurt Merida's eyes. "You…want me to go with you?"

"Yeah! I can't imagine anyone better to sit next to when the Hollyhead Harpies come flying onto the field!"

The sudden image of Merida sitting in the stands beside Astrid as they both screamed their heads off in matching 1967 Hollyhead Harpies' original logo jackets popped into Merida's head. She felt the beginnings of a real smile pulling at her cheeks.

"Aye, I'll go. I'd love to go," Merida said.

"Yes!" Astrid said, with the tiniest pump of her fist. "It's going to be wicked awesome. When I see my dad tomorrow I'll tell him you said yes. We'll talk more about it after the holiday, yeah? I can't wait!" She moved past Merida with a last smile and a sturdy smack on Merida's shoulder. "I'll see you later, Merida! Woo! Go Harpies!" She headed up the hallway to find Hiccup with a skip in her step.

Merida watched her go, her cheeks a tired from the tiny smile. It felt like a while since she had smiled.

Wait. Had she just agreed to spending a week with Astrid and her dad in a tent? Without Hiccup or any of their other friends? How had that happened? In the past, she had completely avoided hanging out with Astrid alone. But this sounded like fun.

The fact that hanging out with Astrid didn't bother Merida was different. She couldn't be sure, but it seemed…important, somehow. The end of something.

She didn't have time to think about it more than that. But when she returned to her earlier dilemma of whether or not to seek out Jack, for some reason the task felt more hopeful.

* * *

Rapunzel found Merida on the stairs around lunch. Merida knew Rapunzel had spent the morning carefully packing her things, no doubt humming to herself and talking aloud to her chameleon, Pascal, about how excited she was to see beautiful-eyed Eugene. Holidays with Rapunzel's mother were rather isolated, but now Rapunzel had the muggle-man's secret rendezvous to look forward to. Merida was happy for her friend, she really was, but she definitely groaned inwardly when Rapunzel popped up out of nowhere with a chipper greeting.

Merida had given up on her search for Jack after she had timidly poked her head into Professor Tallen's classroom and found it empty. She could have gone down to the Slytherin dorm hallway, but she didn't want to seem like she was stalking him. So she had sat down on the edge of a more secluded stairway—but of course Rapunzel had sniffed her out easily.

"So," Rapunzel said, flouncing down next to Merida. "Have you finished packing?"

Merida grunted in response, her arms wrapped around her knees, her eyes sleepy.

"You can't avoid it forever," Rapunzel said. Then she sighed melodramatically. "I know, you just can't bear the thought of not seeing your beloved, super fine, chiseled Slytherin boy. How miserable the holidays will be for you." She giggled.

Merida felt a pang in her chest. She chose not to respond. She couldn't tell Rapunzel anything without adding to her own guilt—she'd already hurt Jack by betraying his trust once. She couldn't do it again, even if it might be nice to lean on Rapunzel's shoulder and talk. It would just make Rapunzel worry, anyway, and the girl was so stupidly happy about going home to see Eugene that Merida couldn't even think about saying anything.

With a little bounce in place, Rapunzel bumped Merida's shoulder. "So, I've got something for you."

"Mm?" Merida responded.

"No, don't ask! I shan't say! It's a surprise. But it'll go adorably with a certain  _other_  surprise I happen to have in my possession from a certain blond boy of yours…"

Merida looked over at her friend. Rapunzel put a finger to her cheeky smile.

"No, don't ask what it is! I promised him I wouldn't tell you. I've already said too much," Rapunzel said.

Jack's Christmas present he had promised her. "When did he give it to you?" Merida asked with a frown.

"Yesterday."

Merida tried to keep the tension out of her voice. "Yesterday? When yesterday?" Had he given it to Rapunzel after his fight with Merida? Was he avoiding her? He wasn't planning on her leaving without seeing him, right? He had told Hiccup he was going to talk to her. He was going to, right?

"It was just after breakfast when I was heading to turn in my last Potions essay."

Merida breathed out in relief. So, before their fight. He wasn't going to avoid her. "Good."

Rapunzel didn't notice the sigh. She continued, "But you can't have it until we're off the train, and then you have to  _promise_  not to open it until Christmas! We all know how terrible you are at waiting to open presents, which is why he gave it to me to keep safe, instead of you."

Rapunzel smiled at her so sincerely that Merida couldn't help but give her a tired smile back.

"You know," Merida said, watching a handful of students run down a separate hallway. "Astrid invited me to go to the Quidditch World Cup with her this summer."

"What, really? That sounds awesome!" Rapunzel paused. "Wait, what?  _Astrid_  invited you?"

"Yep. To go with her and her dad."

"Her and her dad? Like, you and her and her dad? Alone? And you said yes?"

"Uh-huh."

Rapunzel was looking at her closely. "And you're…fine with that?"

"Aye. I think I'm really fine with it. I'm looking forward to it." And she was. It was a single pinpoint of excitement in all the terribleness that was going on right now. "It'll be nice to hang out with her more."

Rapunzel's smile widened. Merida's did, too, and she was glad that Rapunzel also recognized that it was somehow important. Rapunzel shook her shoulder with a little "Eek!" but before she could say more, a Ravenclaw girl and boy came racing down the stairs above them. Merida didn't recognize them, but Rapunzel greeted them with a wave.

"Rapunzel!" the boy called when he saw her. "You're not going down to the dungeons?"

"Hm? The dungeons?" Rapunzel replied as the two sidled past them on the stairs.

"There was a fight—a couple students are up in the infirmary now," the girl answered. "We heard McHaven telling Jenna about it a few minutes ago."

"Oh no," Rapunzel said worriedly, "Are the students ok?"

"I think so, no one's said they weren't," the girl looked at the boy with puckered eyebrows.

"So where are you two going, then?" Rapunzel asked.

"To the Slytherin dorms," the boy said, "Apparently the whole hallway outside them is covered in, like, a foot of ice!"

They turned as another handful of student ran past the opening to the next hall over. The boy pulled on the girl's sleeve and they followed the other students, leaving Rapunzel and Merida on the stairs.

"That seems dumb," Rapunzel said. "We're all going home tomorrow—why get in a fight on the last day and risk getting in trouble?"

Merida wasn't listening. She had frozen at the comment  _a foot of ice_. Merida slowly stood up and headed down the hall, her footsteps quickening as she drew closer and closer to the dungeons. Rapunzel was beside her the whole way, quiet as they got closer and found themselves surrounded by more and more students from every house, all going the same direction with curious whispers.

They descended the final staircase to the Slytherin floor, and Merida could feel the temperature drop. There were small crowds of students around them, but she pushed her way through, more roughly than Rapunzel liked. Merida ignored her chastising. She reached the edge of the crowd and her heart stopped dead at the same time as her feet.

"Merlin's beard," Rapunzel said quietly beside her.

Everything was covered in ice.

The stone floor, the walls, the high ceiling. It was all encased in glittering, blue, thick ice. The torches were frozen in the shape of fire, the tapestries looked like straight sheets of colored glass, and the paintings in the hall were almost obscured by a blanket of white ice. Behind them, Merida could vaguely see moving shapes of the people in the paintings, who must have been panicking badly. The ice seemed to start in the center of the hall, where the ice was thickest, and extend out in jagged patterns, as though a bomb had gone off, devastating everything around it.

"What happened?" were the whispers around her, "Did anybody see?"

"I just heard it was a couple Slytherin kids fighting."

"Put each other in the infirmary."

"Right before Christmas? Idiots."

"Anyone know who they were?"

"What sort of magic is this?"

"Who cares? The better question is, why bother covering everything in ice? Don't we have enough of it outside?"

Rapunzel gripped Merida's arm, looking down at the ice right in front of Merida's shoes. It reflected their bright hair and dark robes. "This is crazy," Rapunzel said. "I bet Jack and Elsa are going to be busy the rest of today."

On the other side of the field of ice, the crowd rustled and parted. Professor McGonagall pushed her way to the front of the students, Professor Tallen hot on her heels. The headmistress stopped at the edge and looked at the chaos, including the Slytherin dorm doors, which were completely sealed shut. She turned around and said in a loud voice that echoed off the ice and down the hall, "All right, enough of this gawking. Return to your own dorms, all of you. If you're from Slytherin house, please wait upstairs in the library or Great Hall. We'll have your dorms open again soon."

Student didn't move until McGonagall began pacing along the line, shooing them away. Professor Tallen looked silently around the hall with his dark eyes. His gaze landed on Merida, and she jumped to recognize a knowing frown on his face. He nodded to her and she turned and pushed back through the crowd.

"Merida, wait! Where are you going?" Rapunzel called, trying to keep up. Merida didn't slow down, and after a minute she didn't hear Rapunzel behind her anymore. She kept going, breaking free of the masses and sprinting toward the stairs.

The four floors and six flights of stairs that it took to get to the infirmary were a blur. She made it to the top, cheeks flushed and lungs heaving. She wasn't the first one there. A handful of Slytherin kids and a large Hufflepuff boy were outside the closed doors. Merida slowed down and neared them, their voices reaching her.

"Come on, please?" the Hufflepuff boy, a huge nervous kid everyone referred to as Fishlegs, pleaded. "We just want to see our friends."

"Your friends are all right," replied Toothiana. As Merida neared, she could see the small woman standing in front of the doors, baring the way. "But they need rest. I can't let you in right now."

"Aw, come on, lady," said a shorter Slytherin boy, Jonah, whom Merida knew as Snotlout. "Just let us in."

Merida joined the crowd, pushing past the large stature of Fishlegs.

"Merida," Toothiana said with wide eyes.

"Please, Tooth," Merida said, using the nickname Jack always called the nurse, "Let me in."

Toothiana glanced at the others in the group, before saying in a softer voice to Merida, "I'm sorry, Ms. Dunbroch, I can't let you in. Please. The headmistress' orders. As soon as I can, I promise I will let you see him."

All Merida could do was look back at her, the desperation she felt showing on her face. Toothiana just looked back with a furrowed brow and pursed lips.

"Merida!" someone called behind her.

Elsa Arendell was running towards the group. The boys raised their eyebrows with pink cheeks, no doubt having never seen her so flushed and windswept. Elsa ignored them and stopped by Merida, putting her hand on Merida's arm. Behind her was Professor Longbottom with a leather sack that smelt spicey. When Toothiana saw him, she stepped aside, letting him slide past and into the infirmary.

"I'm glad you're here," Elsa said in a swift and low voice to Merida. Her eyes were alive and direct; Elsa looked at very few people that way. Merida let Elsa pull her away from the small crowd at the infirmary. Her surprise at Elsa's behavior was overruled by Merida's desperate need for information.

"Have you seen him?" Merida asked as soon as they were far enough away.

"Yes," Elsa responded calmly, "I helped bring him up here. But they're not letting anyone in now, not even me." Then a small smile crossed her nervous lips, her eyebrows set in a confident line. "But don't worry, Merida. He's ok, I promise."

Merida let out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding. "Are you sure? What happened? How did he look?"

"At first he was…frightening. But by the time we reached the infirmary he had calmed down. He felt so guilty—he was mostly just relieved he hadn't hurt anyone too badly."

"What happened? Who did he hurt?"

Elsa put a hand on Merida's shoulder. "Come on, let's find some place to talk."

Merida almost stubbornly refused to move without answers, but if Elsa wasn't panicking, then there must be nothing to panic about. Right? Jack must really be ok. He had to be. And Elsa might know better than anyone else what was going on. So Merida followed, mentally willing her heart to slow down. They found a bench beneath a window the next hall over and sat down, the snow falling thick and silent outside.

After a second of awkward silence, Merida turned to her companion. This was already the longest she had been in the quiet Slytherin girl's presence, and they hadn't even really started talking yet. Elsa was fully clothed in multiple layers of sweater and robe, with long thick tights and a green and silver scarf. She was incredibly beautiful, Merida had always thought so, with a heart shaped face and large blue eyes framed in dark eyelashes. It was no wonder people yearned after her but were too afraid to approach her. Only Jack had cracked that shell and discovered a kind person worth knowing. Classy and put together, responsible and intense, she was the exact opposite of Merida. Yet here they were, sitting together as confidants, each worried about Jack. For the first time, Merida felt a connection to the distant girl.

Elsa tucked a strand of hair back into her braid with a gray gloved hand. Merida had never seen Elsa without those gloves. Before she might have thought it was pretentious, but after learning more about her from Jack, Merida knew it was a nervous habit to hide her Frost Giant blood. Then in her surprisingly low and sultry voice, Elsa said, "It was the Nutt twins."

"The Nutt twins?" Merida blinked.

"Yes. They're cousins of your friend Astrid, I believe?"

"Yeah, they are," Merida said, mildly surprised that Elsa knew that. Elsa never talked to anyone in their group of friends. Actually, she rarely talked to anyone besides Jack or her sister Anna for longer than five minutes. Perhaps Jack simply talked about them a lot. Or perhaps Elsa was more observant than Merida had thought.

"Jack has always gotten along with them off and on," Elsa said. "Sometimes they hang out, but other times their humor can get a bit tasteless and he remembers he doesn't like their company all that much. You know all that."

Merida nodded, quick memories popping up in her head of Ruffnut and Tuffnut, the two long-haired Scandinavian twins with their cynical smiles and sardonic laughter. They were hardly anything like Astrid. Astrid never took any of their crap and seemed to be one of the few people in school who could keep them in line.

Elsa continued, "We were just walking by, heading to help some of the first years with things before the holiday. The twins were having a…conversation, I guess, but it was…well, in their usual bad taste. They were talking about," Elsa paused to sigh, looking away from Merida. The slight purse of Elsa's lips made Merida wonder if the girl was angry. "They were talking about Hagrid, and how he was a half-blood. They were saying some awful things. Jack overheard them. I told him to ignore them, but he couldn't. He told them off rather rudely, and, well, they argued back in their usual way." Elsa sighed again. "I could see them getting under Jack's skin, but he wouldn't listen to me. He…lost his temper. It wasn't good."

The thick blanket of ice, the frozen torches, the panicking figures trapped inside their paintings... "Were the twins hurt?" Merida asked.

"Not badly. I got in the way."

Merida raised her eyebrows. "You did? Are you ok?"

"Yes, I'm ok. Jack's magic doesn't affect me much. Toothiana said the twins will be fine soon, once she and Professor Longbottom make a potion to warm them up a bit. Jack told me he would be fine, too. He said he just needed a big mug of rageweed potion and to separate himself from those two idiots. I hurried to get Professor Longbottom, but he had already heard that something had happened and was headed upstairs." Elsa's eyes fell and she clenched her gloved hands. "I've never seen Jack lose control like that. He had already been teetering on the edge all morning, and it only took one thing to send him tumbling over. It scared me, Merida. Do you know if something happened to him to make him unstable like that?"

Merida bit her lip, and avoided Elsa's eyes. "We got in a fight yesterday." She was ashamed to admit it. Elsa probably never fought with Jack. "I…did something that hurt him. It was all my fault. I was so stupid! He went a little Frost Giant in a classroom yesterday because of it. On top of that, I think he was already upset about Professor McGonagall sending him away." Her head snapped toward Elsa, suddenly fearing she had said something she shouldn't have again. "Did you know about that?"

Elsa nodded.

Oh. Of course. Merida looked away again.

"I thought it might have been something like that," Elsa said. "I was too afraid to ask him about it, though. You are always a sensitive subject when it comes to him."

"Hm?" Merida glanced over. "What do you mean sensitive?"

"I can always tell how much time he spent with you in a day by what sort of mood he's in when he comes back to the dorm."

Merida could feel her shoulders inching towards her ears in unease. What did that mean? What sort of moods? Pissed off? Irritated? They did fight sometimes, although it had been less recently. He just didn't have the energy to tease her as much.

What sort of mood had he been in last night?

"The more, the better," Elsa continued. "Sometimes he just comes in and flops down on the couch with a big smile at me and I know that all he wants me to do is ask him, 'so, how is Merida?' just so he can talk about you." She let out a breath of laughter, no hint of jealousy on her face.

Merida blinked, cocking her head to the side. She hadn't expected that. She bit down on her lip to focus on the conversation instead of letting her eyes get watery. _Jack..._

Elsa sobered up again. "Sometimes he's frustrated because he feels like he's not able to keep up with you like he used to. But last night he came in and it was…different. He told me about the headmistress' plan. He said it calmly, but it was so empty. Like he felt absolutely nothing about it. And his eyes…" Elsa trailed off.

The words hung in the air, and in the silence Merida could hear her heart beat pulsing hard. Elsa wrapped her arms around herself and stared at the floor in front of her, lost in the memory. After a second she snapped out of it, shaking her head slightly.

"He was better this morning," Elsa said. "He was still upset, but at least he was  _something_. In fact, when I left him in the infirmary, that was the most normal I'd seen him. I was relieved he was feeling better, although he was sorry he had lost his temper." She sighed. "He bottles it up too much. He shouldn't try to cover up when he's upset so often."

Merida gave a small snort. "Oh, he lets it out on me often enough."

Elsa smiled again and shook her head. "No, he's never really angry. Not with you. I've seen you two together for years. You tease, but it's never meant to hurt the other one. It's nice."

Her smile seemed so sincere, but it just made Merida groan. She leaned forward and plopped her face into her hands, her hair cascading around her. Her voice muffled, she said, "That's what you think. He was so mad at me yesterday. And I deserved it. I completely deserved it. I really hurt him, Elsa, and right when he was already worried about something else even more important. I didn't mean to. I just want him to be happy. But I made it worse, and now he probably hates me."

"No," Elsa cooed, "I'm sure he doesn't hate you. You are one of his oldest friends, and he cares about you very much. He'll forgive you."

 _I love you, Merida._ The echo hurt. Her voice cracked, "I don't deserve it."

"Why not? You've spent all this time trying to help him, even after finding out what he was. It didn't stop you from being with him. You're very brave, Merida. I don't know that I could do what you're doing."

That gave Merida pause. She turned to peek at Elsa through her curtain of hair. "But aren't you part Frost Giant, too?"

"Yes. But Jack and I are in different places." Elsa seemed more tense than she had been. Her grip on her arms tightened, and she looked the way she had before in the past, when she had walked alone in the hall or sat by a stranger in class. "Maybe the me from a year ago would be in the same place as him now. If Pitch had come here then, I would have easily snapped. I wasn't strong enough to handle anything on my own, and I was barely keeping my Frost Giant blood from overtaking everything. But because of Jack, I didn't have to do it alone. For the first time, I had a friend that I could confide in, one who wouldn't be afraid or ashamed of me. Eventually, I started feeling more human and more confident, and Jack helped me realize that he wasn't the only one that cared about me. My sister loved me." Elsa paused, her eyes misty. "Despite everything, she cared about me. My parents, too. My family moved away from my relatives who hated that we weren't purebloods, and since then, things have been better. But Jack has gone the other direction. He'd already been struggling, no matter what I did, and North couldn't do much, either. Then he met his father and Flenna, and since then he's been changing. I don't blame him. How can I? I know what it's like to feel isolated from family. But it makes me sad. I'll really miss him."

Elsa's tone made Merida felt like she was missing something. "You'll miss him? When he leaves the school?"

"I suppose then, yes. That would be as good a time as any for him to go," Elsa said. "I don't see why he'd go on the run with North when his family is already here. It would just be easier for him to leave now, rather than put it off."

Merida stared at her blankly, her gut twisting worse. "What do you mean?"

Elsa's eyebrows drew together. "I mean why go south when…" she trailed off, looking at Merida. Then her eyes widened just the slightest bit and she spoke faster, "I just meant when he leaves the school. We'll all miss him, but he'll be safe with North and the aurors away from Pitch. That's all. Anyway, I think I should go and find Professor Tallen. He might need my help in the dorms." She stood from the bench and began to walk away, her shoulders high and tense.

Merida was on her feet, too, and Elsa only got three steps away before Merida had caught her by the arm.

"What do you  _mean_ , 'when he goes'?" Merida demanded. "What does his family have to do with anything?"

"No, I just meant he'll miss them, I mean, when he goes south. I'll miss him, too, I'm sure you know—"

"Don't lie to me, Elsa," Merida said in a tight voice. "What were you talking about? Where is Jack going?"

Elsa looked like she wanted to run away, but Merida's grip on her arm was tight. Elsa was at least two inches taller than Merida, but with the way she was looking at Merida with wide, nervous eyes, Merida might as well have been a giant.

"I-I'm sorry," Elsa said. "I thought you…he said he'd told you everything, and I'd just assumed…"

" _Where_?" Merida replied.

Elsa pursed her lips but after a second it looked as though she had visibly resigned. Her eyes dropped to the floor between them, and she said in an even quieter voice than usual, "He's going to join his family and the Frost Giants."

"What? No. No, he wouldn't do that.  _Why_  would he do that?"

"They're his family. He said that it was still Flenna—when he talked to her, he could understand her, and underneath all that Frost Giant stuff it was Flenna. He decided he was going with her and his father a long time ago. I tried to talk him out of it, but he said he was fine with it. I had hoped that when he started dating you he might change his mind. Jack's important to me, and I'm important to Jack, but I know it's different than the way that  _you're_  important to Jack. But every time I worked up the courage to ask he just said he 'wasn't sure'. Two weeks ago, I asked and he said, 'there's nothing to keep me here'. That's why I…I had always known you were strong. You're such a different person than me, but I really felt like you were so brave to stay with him until it was time for him to go. I really admired you for it."

Elsa finished and silence reigned in the hall. After a moment, Elsa swallowed and looked up at Merida's eyes. Merida stared back at her, unblinking.

"Merida? Are you alright? I'm sorry." Elsa reached forward, but as she did so Merida stepped back, letting go of Elsa's arm and standing just out of reach. After another second, she turned and headed down the hall. She was only slightly aware of Elsa calling after her, apologizing again.

* * *

 

One second, Elsa's voice was echoing after her, the next Merida was banging open the doors to the infirmary, startling the group of students who were still waiting outside to see their friends.

She headed down the aisle of sick beds, passing the Nutt twins, who were wrapped in blankets. They sneered something to her, but right now she had tunnel vision. She didn't even see Toothiana, who hurried toward her, and tried to stop her. She didn't hear Professor Longbottom, who calmly tried to talk to her.

But she did see Jack, pale and thin, holding a mug of steaming potion. She did hear him when she stopped at the foot of his bed and he said to her in surprise, "Merida. What's wrong?"

"Were you ever going to tell me that you were going to live with Flenna and your father?" she said, "Or were you going to disappear without telling anyone?"

He was stone still, staring up at her. Professor Longbottom and Toothiana looked at each other, then down at Jack.

"I…would have told you," Jack said.

"Liar. We've been dating for months, and you never said anything about it. You keep talking about fighting Pitch off, but the whole time you were just planning on waltzing right over to his side, weren't you?"

In a small fit, she lifted her foot and kicked the end of his bed as hard as she could. The frame vibrated, and a small splash of liquid fell from his mug.

"You stupid  _liar_! Leading me on, telling me you love me, and all this time you were going to leave me! You knew it from the very beginning!" Her voice cracked, but she kept going, voice rising louder and louder. "What about your uncle? What about Hiccup and Rapunzel? What about Elsa? You're going to leave all of us behind without so much as a good-bye, so you can go live with those  _monsters_  in the arctic? You selfish prick!" She kicked the bed again, making Toothiana gasp and step over, trying to pull her back. Merida shook her off.

"They're my _family_ , Merida," Jack replied, his jaw set as he looked up at her.

Merida looked down at him, breathing hard. His face was passive, his eyes were hard. They were tinged purple. She held his gaze, but she knew she wouldn't be able to for long. Her eyes were already filling with tears.

"Well," she said, her voice lower but tight, "Then good for you. I hope you're happy." She spun on her heel, brushing past Toothiana on her way back to the entrance.

"Merida, wait," Jack called, and she heard him hurriedly set the mug down and push himself out of the bed after her.

She didn't slow down, but she half turned back, avoiding looking at him. Her tone was angrier and more broken than she meant it to be, "It's fine! We'll just break up now, it'll be easier for you! Have a good life!" Then she picked up the pace, hurrying out of the infirmary, ignoring the staring eyes of the Nutt twins and the group of students just outside the door.

She didn't look back once, not wanting to see Jack following her or not following her, afraid of the implications of either one.

The further away from the infirmary she got, the more she could feel her heart ripping in two. She was crying long before she reached the Gryffindor dorms, dodging between her classmates in the common room who talked to each other excitedly, ready for the holiday. Luckily, no one was in her room. She made her way to her bed, trying to draw the drapes around closed, sobbing quietly to herself. She tripped over a stack of textbooks she had left on the floor and fell back, catching herself on the windowsill. Her elbow bumped the glass bowl with the glowing Treasure Flower, and it fell to the ground, shattering loudly.

She quickly crouched down, picking up the sharp pieces as the golden vines of the flower twisted around aimlessly. She looked down at the glowing blossom, pausing with a piece of glass in her hand. One of the vines snaked toward her and curled softly around her finger, as though trying to comfort her, and the action made the sobbing in her chest turn to a painful bawl. She leaned over the flower, her tears falling onto its petals, her hair mixing with the glass.

She felt like vomiting, but nothing came out but sobs. She tried to cover her mouth to hold them in, but it was useless. Everything hurt. She couldn't do anything to stop the pain in her chest.

All this time she'd been worried about being there for Jack, about helping him, about not hurting him. She'd been wrong. She'd been the one who had gotten hurt.

* * *

She wondered how many nights in the last term she had spent staring at the dark canopy above her bed. Too many. She wondered if things would go back to normal now that she and Jack had broken up. The ache around her heart made her doubt it.

She and Jack had broken up. Actually, she had broken up with Jack. Because he wanted to go off and be a Frost Giant.

Had he been that unhappy with her? With anyone? He'd always seemed happy. She knew he had missed his mother, had always regretted the loss of his sister, but had he been that lonely? Not even Hiccup or Elsa or she had made a difference? How could that be? Elsa had said that her family's support had helped her. Merida had always thought of her friends as family; Jack evidently didn't think the same.

Idiot. Stupid, scaffy idiot. She didn't want him to go. She didn't want to come back to a new term at Hogwarts if Jack wasn't here. She couldn't imagine laughing with Rapunzel and Hiccup as if Jack had never been there. She couldn't imagine Jack as a shadowy, purple, heartless creature. No more sweet kisses. No more teasing and laughing and holding hands. No more secret smiles and late-night conversations.

Stupid.  _Stupid_.

She was so stupid.

Her eyes were tired and swollen, but somehow tears started to stream from them again. Crivens. She pressed the backs of her knuckles to her lips, trying to stop them from quivering.

"Merida?" a quiet voice said from the other side of her closed drapes.

Merida started at the noise. Her room was quiet—a couple of her responsible roommates had come in and fallen asleep, but the distant noise from the common room told her some Gryffindors were still awake, partying. The only light in the room was the slight glow in the corner of her bed, where she had put the Treasure Flower, carefully tucked inside her nicest shoe that she never wore.

Merida cleared her throat several times before saying, "What is it?" Her voice was hoarse. Embarrassing.

"There's someone at the door for you," was the answer. Merida recognized the voice—it was Rosie, a second year. "Someone from Slytherin house."

Merida shot up like a bolt, yanking the curtains back. The young girl with bushy auburn hair jumped, blinking back at her.

"Thank you," Merida said, getting off the bed and heading downstairs. Several people called out to her to join them drinking butterbeer by the fire, but all she could do was nod at them.

She was nervous as she crawled through the portrait hole. What would she say? What was  _he_  going to say? She didn't care. She just wanted to hug him.

It was not Jack waiting for her on the other side. Her hopes crashed back into her stomach, and she tried not to look too pathetic when Elsa turned around.

"Merida," Elsa said, breathless, "Have you seen Jack?"

"No," Merida said, her stomach sinking even further. "Why? What's wrong?"

"He's not in the infirmary," Elsa replied. "Toothiana doesn't know where he went. I think he might have…I don't, but Merida, I'm worried. I thought I understood what he was doing, that he understood, but I don't think we did." Elsa trailed off, looking on the brink of tears, her gloved hands in fists.

Merida looked past Elsa when she heard a commotion down the hall. It was Peeves, flying overhead and screaming loudly, "Frost! Where are you! You'll pay for locking me in that tower! Frost!" He zoomed around the corner, causing the students below to duck out of the way.

This was what Jack wanted. He wanted to leave. He wanted to go find his family. He didn't want to stay with them. He wanted this. They should let him go. Merida should let him go.

But not without a fight.

"He won't like it, Merida," Elsa was saying. "He won't like it with them. He's too good, too carefree. Pitch isn't—I can feel how close he is, Merida, it scares me—Jack shouldn't go with them. I don't know what we can—"

Merida put a hand on Elsa's shoulder and she stopped. "We'll find him," Merida said, "We'll bring him back."


	10. Chapter 10

She was calm. It was a familiar calm—the sort that she felt in the locker room just before a quidditch match. Her senses were sharp and her mind was cleared; she was ready for anything.

She didn't know how long that rash, confident feeling would last, but she hoped it would get her through this night.

Behind her, Elsa didn't feel the same. Merida could feel the girl's nerves on her back like a constant, cool breeze. She decided not to address it. What could Merida say to console her? Elsa knew better than her what the tall, looming front doors to the main hall, were sealed shut against. Perhaps Merida shouldn't have chosen the front doors to leave through. A smaller back door might have been easier to slip out unnoticed, but it had to be this hall where they met. This was where they had always met.

Merida looked down at the small gold coin she gripped tightly in her palm. On the front was etched the smiling, mischievous faces of two identical boys with freckles. Above them were the initials for Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes. The back of the coin was usually smooth and blank, until a message was sent. Right now, three words sat in gold leaders where Merida had tapped her wand to make them appear: JACK GONE. HURRY.

It was the quickest way to get a message to a friend in another House at Hogwarts. She and her friends hadn't needed the coins in a couple years, and it had taken her a couple minutes to dig hers out of the bottom of her trunk. She had sent the message immediately before flying back through the Gryffindor common rooms, grabbing Elsa, and running as fast as she could until she had come to the exact spot she was at now.

And they waited.

Rapunzel reached them first. Merida had needed Hiccup's help, but the coins were all connected, and there was no way to contact him in such a short amount of time without also sending the message to Rapunzel.

Rapunzel hurried down the stairs, her dress robes thrown on over her purple pajamas, saying, "What's wrong? Where's Jack? Is he ok?"

Merida looked at her friend's worried face, then over at Elsa before turning back to continue staring at the door. Elsa got the hint, and began explaining to Rapunzel the watered-down version of the story: Jack half Frost Giant, Pitch bad, Jack gone. Surely, Rapunzel was incredibly confused at the situation, and that she was being told it by Elsa Arendell of all people, but Merida didn't have time to consider Rapunzel right now. Merida was clinging tightly to her confidence, and having to tell the story and get emotional about the situation might break her.

Rapunzel was trying to slow Elsa down and ask more questions, practically making Elsa start over, when Hiccup and Astrid came running down the steps. Merida spun on her heel and met them as soon as they reached the bottom of the stairs.

The two Hufflepuffs were each awkwardly carrying a large silver cage with a fuzzy, white creature inside, with small black eyes and ears and long bodies. They looked somewhat like oversized ferrets, mixed with otters. The creatures were a bit jostled from the run, and they chirped anxiously at Hiccup with little voices that sounded echoey and unreal.

"Jack's gone?" Hiccup said, breathless. "And I'm assuming you meant  _gone_  gone? Not just, like, ran to the bathroom gone?"

Merida snorted. " _Gone_ , gone. Like left the castle into the night, gone."

"That's what we thought."

Hiccup and Astrid shared a look. Merida might have wondered how much Astrid knew about the situation, but right now, Merida didn't care.

"All right," Hiccup said with a sharp nod before he bent down and carefully set the cage on the ground. Astrid placed hers down next to it.

"And these are…?" Merida said, looking down at the creatures that blinked up at her.

"These little cuties are Norwegian snow slinkers," Hiccup said proudly, "Known for their beautiful ice nests and penchant for frozen mackerel, which they have no problem sneaking into their neighbors' houses to steal." Merida gave him an impatient look. He finished quickly, "More importantly, they're one of the best trackers in the Arctic circle, and can follow a scent even in the middle of a snow storm."

Merida let out a small breath. Thank goodness. She had had no idea how to find Jack in the Forbidden Forest, and she had been praying with all her might for the last ten minutes that Hiccup would have an idea. "Merlin's beard, Hiccup, I love you."

Hiccup grinned. "You're welcome." Astrid followed suit when he bent down and opened the hatch on the cage. The Snow Slinkers slid out of the holes before they were even completely opened, running between Merida's legs and pouncing each other, rolling around on the stone floor, their ethereal, unearthly chirping filling Merida's ears.

"How will they know to find him?" Merida asked, eyes on the animals.

"We stopped and grabbed this," Astrid said, pulling a small, folded piece of cloth out of her pocket. She handed it to Merida, who opened it and saw that it was a corner of something that had been cut jaggedly off.

"That's a piece of Jack's blanket from the infirmary," Hiccup said as Rapunzel and Elsa stepped closer to see. "Hopefully the right one, anyway. It's the most recent thing that he's touched. Toothiana wouldn't be happy, but luckily she wasn't there when we stopped by."

"Go ahead, Mer," Astrid said softly. "Let them smell it."

Merida turned and crouched down, and the two creatures stopped squirming to look at her, their small ears on alert. "Here you go, things," Merida said in a cooing voice, "Come smell this daft idiot and help us find him." They inched closer, one paw at a time, and Merida held her breath as they neared to sniff the piece of blanket. They were close enough that she saw the faint flash of violet in their black eyes before they turned, noses bobbing up to sniff the air, then down to smell the ground. It was only a couple seconds before they were standing at the foot of the front door.

Of course, Jack had walked right out the front doors. It shouldn't have surprised her that he had done the same thing as her, choosing the stately main entrance to make an exit in a hurry, rather than a quiet back door. He had probably even stopped at the threshold and looked back at the halls of Hogwarts in that stupid, pithy way he had adopted recently. Something she did at the beginning of every summer when she was leaving.

Without looking, Merida handed the cloth to whoever was closest to her, then sprinted forward to the door. She slid the heavy, finely engraved locks back, waving her wand at the higher ones that she couldn't reach. They fell away with a loud clang, still echoing when Merida put all her weight into pulling one of the doors open. The snow slinkers dove out as soon as they could, and Merida braced herself against the freezing cold air that washed over her, blowing her hair around and making her squeeze her eyes shut.

Elsa's small gasp behind her made her pop her eyes open again. The gray stones of the courtyard were completely swallowed up in a deep blanket of sparkling, white snow that reflected the warm light from the open door and the cool lights of the stars shining above them.

Wait, the stars?

The sky was completely clear. No sign of storm clouds, no harsh wind blowing. Everything was still and beautiful. That frightened Merida more than a blizzard would have.

"What happened to the storm?" Rapunzel asked, breaking the silence.

No one answered her. A sudden blue glow in Merida's peripheral made her turn. Hiccup and Astrid had their wands out, the tips of them emitting a blue light that lit their faces as they looked out at the night. It was then that Merida paid them enough attention to realize they were both in their heavy winter coats, boots, and gloves.

"You don't have to come," she told them.

"Yes, we do," Hiccup said, the lumos of his wand reflecting in his eyes as he turned to look at her. One look at Astrid showed that she was equally as determined.

Merida nodded once, then turned to Rapunzel and Elsa. Elsa's eyes were flicking between Merida and the outside. Rapunzel had her wand pointed at her robes, which thickened and grew fur around the edges, looking warm and cozy over her pajamas. When Rapunzel was finished, she pulled the hood up over her head, tucking her blonde hair into it.

Turning wide eyes on Merida, Rapunzel said, "I'm not sure what's going on, but if something's wrong with Jack, I'll help." She stepped forward and pulled on Merida's thin black robe, touching her wand to it. Immediately, the cold air was blocked from Merida's skin, and she felt her robe getting heavier, brown fur sprouting along her collar and cuffs. Rapunzel's jaw was set. "You can explain it when we get back."

Merida squeezed her hand. Perhaps she should have tried to convince them all to stay, but in between her confident heartbeats there was space for a small ache of terror—the fear of a girl who just wanted someone to hug and tell her that Jack would come back. Merida stayed silent and only nodded.

Elsa was gripping tight to the scrap of severed blanket, her eyes wildly searching Merida's and her teeth clenched in frustration. Merida knew what she was going to say before she opened her mouth.

"I can't go. If Pitch sees me—if any of them do—I won't come back. They won't let me," Elsa said.

"It's ok," Merida said, "You don't have to."

"But I…" Elsa looked out at the night, her weight shifting. Merida recognized her expression, one that wanted to run out there and not come back unless she was dragging Jack with her.

"We'll bring him back," Merida assured her.

Hiccup stepped over and put a hand on Elsa's shoulder. "Besides, we need you to do something," he said.

Elsa looked up at him, her eyebrows drawing together.

"Someone needs to tell the headmistress where we're going. She'll be able to contact the aurors and tell them to keep an eye out for Jack. If we don't get to him first, maybe they can." Hiccups glanced at Merida, who shrugged. Merida wouldn't have wanted to tell McGonagall any sooner, knowing the woman would have stopped them, and perhaps even thought that it was Jack's choice, so there was no reason to endanger the aurors going after him. Now Merida and the others would be long gone by the time McGonagall knew, and thinking that the aurors would be looking after them made Merida feel better.

Elsa blinked, Hiccup's words sinking in. Then her face turned fierce and she stepped back into the school. "Be careful," she told Merida, "I don't think Jack's been gone long, so find him fast. You have to reach him before Pitch does, or no one will be able to get to him, not even the aurors."

Merida swallowed. "Ok."

Elsa sprinted into the school. Merida started down the stairs.

Only to sink straight into the snow up to her hips. She cried out, losing her balance and falling forward, her hands sinking up to her elbows when she tried to catch herself.

"Not so fast!" Rapunzel called behind her.

"I hate winter," Merida growled, trying to pull herself out but not getting much of anywhere, since each step sunk just as deep. A minute later she heard the light crunch of snow as someone neared her. Rapunzel and Astrid were standing on top of the snow, looking down at her.

"Need a hand?" Astrid asked with a grin. The two girls reached down to pull her up by the arms. Astrid held onto her as Rapunzel instructed her to lift her feet one at a time.

" _Nix calceus_ ," Rapunzel said, tapping her wand against the toes of Merida's shoes. "There, try that."

Merida gingerly shifted her weight from Astrid to her own feet. The snow crunched beneath her, but she didn't sink, not even her shoes. Thank Merlin.

"I can work with this," Merida said, walking forward, gaining confidence as she went.

Hiccup was a few steps ahead of them, whistling low. A second later, twenty yards away, two fuzzy heads popped out of the snow, their eyes glinting in the light from the castle. Merida passed Hiccup, Rapunzel and Astrid right behind her.

Her wand, Merida said, " _Lumos_." Her wand lit up, adding to her friends' lights, and helping her see the burrowing movement of the snow slinkers just below the snow in front of them. Ahead of them, she could see the dark trees. The shadows between them seemed to call out to her in a chilling voice, using Jack's name. "Let's go," she said.

Hiccup whistled again, and the snow slinkers took off.

Merida ran.

* * *

They had barely passed the first layer of trees before Merida's lungs were stinging from the freezing air. The deeper they went the worse it got. Even if she was the sort of person that liked the outdoors in the winter, this would have been hard. Everyone was silent as they ran, eyes and ears strained for any movement among the trees, signs of either Jack or danger. They hadn't come across any footprints, but Jack wasn't a normal wizard, and snow behaved strangely around him. Merida could only hope the snow slinkers were following the right scent.

"There's nothing out here," Rapunzel said when they were so deep in the trees that their wands were the only light they had. They paused by a huge, thick black tree while the snow slinkers popped out of the snow and sniffed around the base.

"It's the Frost Giants," Hiccup replied with a cough. "Most of the creatures in here would know better than to stick around with them nearby."

"Frost Giants…Aurors...Our poor Jack's in a mess, isn't he?" Rapunzel said. She looked at Merida and said, "I don't like the feeling here."

"Aye, me neither," was all Merida could say, her hands on her knees as she caught her breath.

Astrid held her wand high as she scanned the trees around them. She stopped when a light breeze blew toward them, a low moaning accompanying it. She shivered. "Let's hurry and get Jack out of here. It's creepy as hell."

They kept going. Merida couldn't tell if everything inside her was burning, or freezing. She just knew it hurt. She had started sweating, but the air was getting colder as they went, penetrating the heavy coat that Rapunzel had made her. She hoped that was a good sign, that it meant they were getting closer, but the cold made it harder to breath and move. More than ever she wished she had learned that warming spell that Jack had created. She just added it to her list of regrets.

Merida didn't know how long it had been since they left the castle (half an hour or two hours? It was impossible to tell in the thick trees) when the snow slinkers' chirping stopped abruptly. Her group ran on in silence, the only sound their harsh breathing and the low moan of the wind between the trees. They stopped when they reached the little white creatures, their heads poking out of the snow, sniffing the air in every direction.

"What is it?" Astrid asked. "Did they lose the scent?"

"Can't be," Hiccup replied quietly, trying not to distract the animals. "Not unless Jack just  _flew straight up_  from here."

"Well, he's not  _exactly_  human," Astrid replied, matching Hiccup's whisper. "So maybe he did?"

"What, no, that'd be the first I heard of Frost Giants flying."

"I thought you said you didn't know anything about Frost Giants."

"Well, I don't, but I think  _someone_  would know if they could  _fly_ —"

"Shh!" Merida said sharply, throwing her hand back at them. She had been watching the snow slinkers carefully, and when they both whipped their heads to the right and froze, noses quivering, her heart had skipped. Her friends fell silent and she strained her eyes, trying to see beyond the light of her wand into the dark.

Was it Jack? Was he close? She didn't see another wand light or a flash of white hair in the dark. Her heart was pounding hard in her ears, and her breath was still uneven, so she couldn't hear very far. Was that the crunching of snow?

It was. Slow, even crunching, like something moving very carefully.

"Jack?" Merida called out. The trees and snow absorbed her voice, making it sound weak in the vast wood. There was no response.

"Could it be the aurors?" Rapunzel asked, barely above a whisper.

"I don't know," Hiccup responded, eyes fixed on the direction of the sound.

"What else could it be? You said everything was gone."

A piece of wood snapped. It was closer than the footsteps.

"I don't know," Hiccup said again, even more quietly.

If her heaving lungs would have permitted it, Merida would have been holding her breath. A painful chill was creeping swiftly up her spine. She flinched when she saw a shadow move twenty yards from her. In what little light shone on it, the shadow looked purple and shapeless. A wind tore from it, as though trying to knock Merida over.

"Run!" she snapped, breaking the tension and startling everyone into action.

The trees flashed in the panicked, swinging light of their wands. Behind them, the slow, even footsteps had become faster. Glancing over her shoulder, Merida spotted the Frost Giant between the trees. Its form was clearer now, standing out among the black trees. It was tall, so much taller than she remembered them being. It was moving quicker, but still much slower than they were. They could outrun it.

"Ahead of you!" Hiccup shouted from the back of the group.

Merida whipped back around, skidding to a halt when she saw the looming figure of another Frost Giant ahead of them. This one lifted its hand, and the snow in front of it burst straight up in sharp spikes, exploding in a line toward them.

" _Incendio_!" Astrid shouted, flicking her wand forward.

A gust of hot air surged passed Merida and erupted in front of her, filling the empty space between them and the Frost Giant with a raging wall of scarlet flames. The red light lit up every tree within fifty feet, and Merida had to throw her arm up to protect her face.

"This way!" Hiccup shouted, grabbing Merida's arm and yanking her to their left. They went barreling down an incline, dodging in and out of trees. Behind them, the fire light was dying.

Rapunzel squeaked in alarm, making Merida jump and turn to her. She was looking to their right, where a tall shadow was moving between the trees parallel to them. Was it one of the two they had already seen? Or was this a new one? How many had come down from Siberia, following their chief gurg, Pitch?

" _Petrificus totalus_!" Rapunzel said, and a bolt of green light shot from her wand and hit the Frost Giant. It washed over the creature, but didn't slow it down.

"Your magic won't work on it!" Hiccup shouted. "The best we can do is distract it or slow it down!"

Rapunzel gritted her teeth, flicking her wand again, " _Micoalbumos_!"

A blinding flash of light lit up around the Frost Giant. To Merida's surprise, it paused and turned its head away.

"Good job, Punz!" Merida hollered. "Keep going!"

Rapunzel turned behind them, shouting the same spell. The flash traveled behind them like a wave, passing over tree and Frost Giant, revealing at least three more behind them as far as Merida could see. " _Aranea telio_!" Rapunzel said next, planting her feet and waving her wand between the two trees they had just run through. A silver, stringy substance streamed from her wand, wrapping back and forth between the trees until a tight web hung between them.

Merida had paused, not wanting to leave Rapunzel behind. "Will that hold?"

"Let's not find out!" Rapunzel said, running past her.

Ahead of them, Hiccup and Astrid were sending spells in various directions. Some of the spells sent green sparks at trees, which sprouted green vines that twisted across to other trees, at a height that might clothes-line a Frost Giant. Another sent a translucent pack of wolves chasing after a Frost Giant to their right, ghostly howls rising up behind them. Merida raked her brain, trying to come up with something useful. So far, all she could remember was a shoelace binding jinx that she used on professors in her second year, but she didn't think that would be useful in this situation. Curse her for not paying more attention when Professor Tallen was teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts.

The group had to slow down to work their way over the snowy piles around a huge, ancient tree, but as soon as they got around it, an explosion split through the air, making them all scream and duck. Something hard and sharp pelted Merida's shoulders and arms as she covered her head. When the onslaught stopped she looked down to see shredded pieces of dark, frozen tree bark. She looked up at the tree next to her. The thick, ancient trunk had a huge hole blown through the side of it, splinters of wood poking in every direction like sharp teeth. Around the edges was a sparkling, white frost, and even as she watched the ice spread over the wood. She wasn't sure how the giant had done that, but she was sure glad it hadn't hit any of them. Through the hole she could see a Frost Giant, too close for comfort.

"Bloody hell," Hiccup murmured, looking at the shrapnel.

"The tree," Astrid responded, tugging on Hiccup's arm. Merida followed her gaze, up into the bows and branches of the tree. The tree was swaying. Another loud crack drew her attention back to the trunk, where the remaining column of wood was having trouble holding the weight of the rest of it.

"Get out of the way!" Rapunzel shouted.

Everyone but Merida ran to get out of the way of the teetering tree. Merida might not have the repertoire of spells that her friends had, but what spells she did know she could use proficiently. And lucky for her, she had grown up in the highlands, where they hunted trolls and wrestled bears.

She backed away a couple steps, ignoring her friends who were yelling at her. " _Brachius fortis_!" she said, feeling a surge of magic around her, like invisible armor. The snow beneath her sunk at her suddenly heavier weight, but it didn't slow her down as she sprinted straight at the tree, a beastly growl coming from deep in her throat. With the extra power in her legs, she sprung up at the last second and slammed her shoulder into the side of the trunk. It cracked, and the whole thing changed direction, swinging away from her friends and landing heavily on top of the Frost Giant, who was too slow to get out of the way. Merida fell with it, landing with a heavy thud in the snow. Having knocked the breath out of herself, she gasped and coughed before floundering in the deep snow to regain her footing on top of it.

The Frost Giant was flattened beneath the branches, but as she watched, the arm she could see moved to push the huge tree off of itself. Merida ran back to her friends, who looked at her with wide eyes before falling in step. Hiccup laughed as he ran alongside her, and Astrid said, "Well, I finally understand why your patronus is a bear!"

They ran another hundred yards before they saw a wall of ice ahead of them, stretching between the trees, each branch covered in several inches of thick ice. It looked the same as the thick ice Merida had seen coating the hall outside the Slytherin common rooms earlier that day. Hiccup lead them around the right side of it.

Through all of this, Merida hadn't forgotten why it was they were here. They'd been running like crazy, but were they getting closer to Jack or farther away? For all she knew, Jack might have been one of these Frost Giants hunting them down.

No.  _No_ , she couldn't think like that, not yet. There was no way they had been that late, not after all this. She had to put her faith in the aurors, they would get to him. She'd heard that some of the aurors at the ministry were famous wizards who had fought in the war before she was born. They would get to him. They would save him. And maybe the fact that there was a pack of Frost Giants behind them meant that they were being a good distraction, giving the aurors time.

It wasn't two minutes before they came across another wall of ice between the trees. This time, it wrapped around to their right until they couldn't see its end. They had to go left, only to be met with another ice wall.

Merida swore as they ran alongside it. "I don't like this. I feel like they're just leading us further away from Jack."

"Why would they bother? Why don't they just kill us?" Hiccup said.

"Do you want them to try?" Astrid demanded.

"Of course not, that's not my point!"

Rapunzel was wheezing the hardest, the least used to northern climates and athletics, but she still managed to gasp when they rounded a bend in the narrow ice hall they were running down only to see another ice wall ahead of them, cornering them. They ground to a halt.

"Oh, goody," Astrid said, whirling around, wand raised. A Frost Giant came into view behind them, taking long strides. "Looks like a trap. Maybe you'll get your wish, Hiccup."

Hiccup ground his teeth together, the light from his wand turning a saturated red. "Hilarious. Just keep up."

Merida had no time to ask what she should be ready for before Hiccup hurled a streak of fire through the air. It arched and grew as it flew, and instead of fanning out like a fireball should have, it condensed and solidified. It slammed through the wall ahead of them, shattering the ice and sending bits flying in every direction. Then the fireball sprouted two thick, fiery wings, banked to its right, and came flying straight back toward them. Their group ducked as the dragon barreled over them, opening its jaws and sending another flame directly at the Frost Giant following them. They didn't stop to watch, but ran for the opening.

The ice was growing back quickly, sparkling in the firelight. Astrid was ahead of them, and with a flick of the wrist and a shout of " _Crepitius!_ " a spark of violet exploded at the base of the thin, new forming ice wall. The forest was dark and open ahead of them again, and a sense of relief as well as dread came with the freedom.

They had only gone ten feet when the now familiar sound of ice bursting from the snowy ground erupted behind them. Merida turned barely in time to see the icicles heading straight for them, moving so fast now that she knew the Frost Giants' patient, controlled attacks were over.

"Look out!" She shoved Rapunzel to the side. Rapunzel crashed into Hiccup and Merida was thrown backward as the ice blazed past her. She rolled a few times before she jumped to her feet again, wiping the biting snow from her face.

In front of her, the icicles were quickly melding together to form another wall of solid ice. The wall extended from the small ice maze they had just left all the way into the dark forest ahead of her. She swore again. This was getting very annoying. She ran up to the wall, placing her hands on the ice. "Oi, everyone there? Are you ok?"

"Merida!" Rapunzel called back. A shadow passed behind the ice and Rapunzel's voice was closer. "We're ok! You?"

"I'm all right!"

"Stand back! We'll get you through!" Astrid said, and Merida saw a light glowing yellow on the other side.

Then she heard Hiccup scream, " _Incendio!_ "

Flames rose up into the trees on the other side of the wall, and the glow came through the ice to Merida. She could see the blur of her friends' shapes on the other side, as well as the approaching shadows of Frost Giants. Her friends were outnumbered.

"No!" she said, looking both ways along the wall. She hesitated, not sure if it would be faster for her to try to break her way through the ice, or to try and find a way around. She had to get to them. She couldn't lose  _all_  of her friends in one night.

Voices, new, deep voices caught Merida's attention through the flashes and sounds of fighting from her friends and the Frost Giants. She held her breath as the newcomers approached, before a high-pitched whiz flew through the trees. Through the ice, Merida watched the tall shadow of a Frost Giant get struck by a flash of blue and white sparks which crackled like electricity. The Frost Giant moaned and creaked as it fell slowly to the ground, landing with an earthshaking thud.

"That's two for me, Harry!" a man's voice called jubilantly.

"Brag all you want, Ron! I'll catch you up!"

"You think so? Be careful, or you might end up flat on your back in Mungo's again." A laugh and then a pause. "We've found the students! Everyone all right, then?"

_Merlin's beard_ , Merida thought wildly as more voices joined the first two,  _it's the Aurors._

The forest filled with different colors as spells flew back and forth. A tree creaked and fell, landing heavily and vibrating through the ice. The Frost Giants were little effected by the magic, but the aurors certainly slowed them down, knocking them over and putting up barriers. Merida watched it all with wide eyes, but her heart was sinking. She didn't hear Jack's voice. The aurors hadn't found him.

The aurors were putting up a valiant effort, but the Frost Giants weren't so easily defeated. Slowly, the aurors were backing up, taking Merida's friends with them.

"Wait!" Rapunzel cried, nearing the ice wall again. "Our friend! She's on the other side!"

"I'm ok, Punz!" Merida responded. "No Frost Giants on my side! Keep running, I'll keep up with you on this side and meet you on the other end!"

Her friends ran, guided by the glowing wands of the aurors. A few aurors lagged behind, trying to slow the giants as much as they could before running themselves. Merida had intended to run as well, but she hadn't gone three steps when she heard a chirp.

It was the snow slinkers. Both of them. She had completely forgotten about the creatures in the panic to get away from the Frost Giants. Had the animals been nearby this whole time? They were five yards away from her, in the shadows of the forest, but she could see the flashes of movement as they moved around in the snow. They were looking further into the trees, chirping at each other and then looking back at her.

_Jack._

She didn't think. The snow slinkers took off and she followed them.

* * *

The silence of the forest was oppressive now that she was alone. Her own breath and heartbeat seemed to be loud enough that they might be heard from miles away. The trees seemed like terrible, frozen tombstones in a graveyard that loomed over her as she passed. She kept an eye out for movements or shadows, but saw nothing.

The snow slinkers stopped at the foot of a tree that stood on the edge of a clearing. They crawled over each other and chirped, but didn't go anywhere when she approached them. She waited to see if they would move, and when they didn't she stepped past them into the clearing, her heart beating like crazy.

The clearing was perhaps a hundred feet wide, free of trees, and perfectly smooth with snow. With no foliage around, the waning moon shone down, reflecting off the snow and lighting up the area. In the center of the clearing was a single, shadowy figure, too small to be a Frost Giant.

"Jack!" Merida called, barreling toward him. He didn't respond, and when she reached him, she saw his eyes were closed.

He was in the same clothes she had seen him in earlier that day in the infirmary: green tie, black robe, prefect pin, and all. But he looked far, far worse. He was as still as a marble statue, but paler than one. His blue and purple veins showed through on his hands and face, but instead of making him look alive they made him look transparent. Tiny crystals of frost and ice coated his skin, hanging off his eyelashes. They spread even as Merida watched. Around him, barely perceptible, was a light grayish purple shadowy haze, which only emphasized the moonlight shining down on him. His expression was completely blank. He looked like a beautiful ice sculpture.

"Jack," Merida said, the word coming out as a sob. Her hot tears burned her cold cheeks as she tried to shake him. He hardly moved, he was so frozen stiff. At his feet, she saw that the snow was creeping up, burying his shoes and reaching up to his ankles. "Jack, please! Open your eyes. It's me. Jack!"

He didn't respond. She shook him harder. She took his cold hand gently. She slapped him. He didn't so much as flinch at anything. Another sob escaped her, hurting her lungs that were ragged from all of the running. She put a hand on his chest and felt that it was still. He wasn't breathing.

Was he dead? He couldn't be dead. Surely the Frost Giants wouldn't kill him now that he had come to join them? She didn't understand.

"Jack, please," she said softly, reaching up to put her hands on his face. His skin was cold enough that it might have hurt her, if her fingers weren't already completely numbed. "I'm so sorry about the horrible things I said to you earlier. I didn't mean them, I was upset you were leaving. I'm sorry that I couldn't have helped you more. I'm sorry you felt lonely without your family. I'm sorry I'm a terrible girlfriend. But please, please." She dropped her hands to grip his robes, leaning her forehead against his chest. Tears dripped off her chin. "Come back. Elsa said this wouldn't make you happy. You don't have to do this. I don't want you to do this. Please come back. I need you to come back. I need you. Please. Please. If you don't want me, then come back for Hiccup and Rapunzel. Come back for your uncle, North. They love you. Lots of people love you. Please, Jack. Come back to me." She went on pleading, but it just turned into more crying. Her tears started to freeze on her face, and she wiped them on her sleeve, where they mixed with the other flakes of snow.

After a few minutes, Merida angrily told her tears to go away. She sniffed, the snot in her nose frozen, but straightened. Now wasn't the time for this. She had to get Jack back to the school. She could drag him back somehow, and then they'd figure out what to do there. McGonagall would know what to do. Merida just had to get him out of these woods.

She inhaled sharply when she looked up at him, only to find his eyes open. How long had he been looking at her? The sharp blue in his eyes was gone. His irises were a dark, muddy purple. Even the whites of his eyes were a pale purple. They didn't reflect the light, and they would have looked dead if they weren't completely fixed on her.

"Jack," she breathed. His blank expression frightened her, but at least he was alive.

His lips parted, blue from the cold, and he exhaled out so quietly she almost didn't hear the words he spoke. "…why you…"

Why her? What did that mean? Was he upset that she was there? Should she have sent someone else? But she knew she couldn't have. She would have gone crazy if it wasn't her. She had needed to find him, to see him, to tell him.

"Jack, I—"

A voice behind her cut her off. "Well. I see a distraction has appeared."

Merida whipped around, clutching her wand and putting her back against Jack, a hand out to keep him safe.

Behind her, at the edge of the clearing, was a tall, thin Frost Giant. She was shocked that he had spoken; she hadn't thought that any of them would speak a language she would understand. He was tall, well over six feet, but smaller than the other giants. He was also darker than the others, more black than purple. Most shocking of all, he had a face. A long, gray face with black hair and piercing eyes that bore into her. His hands were behind his back casually, but something about him made Merida so afraid she could barely speak. "Are…are you Pitch?"

The Frost Giant didn't answer, but a glint in his eye told Merida she was right. Pitch started toward them. "You must be one of those children that my Frost Giants were playing with. Too bad you got separated from the others. You might have lived."

Merida raised her wand as he approached, ignoring the small amount of quivering her hand was doing. "I'm taking Jack back with me."

"Oh? Did he say he wanted to go with you?"

Merida paused, then tried to sound confident. "It's not right for him to join you."

"That's not for you to decide, girl. This is his clan. It's where he rightfully belongs."

Pitch was getting too close for comfort. Merida started, " _Petrificus_ —" but before she could finish, her wand snapped out of her hand, hurting her wrist, and flew off into the trees behind her.

Before she had time to panic about that, the snow beneath her wrapped up around her legs to her hips, and with a yelp she realized she was being carried forward. She stopped just short of Pitch, and up close she could see his severe features. Unlike Jack, Pitch had an expression—malice. He took a step toward her.

"No!" she shouted, throwing her hand out in an attempt to push him back.

The snow around her immediately shot out and caught her arms, pinning them to her side. Pitch got so close she could see there were no pupils in his black eyes.

"Were you a friend of his?" Pitch asked. "Pathetic and useless. You should have known better—why would he have ever decided to stay a pathetic human wizard when he has far greater potential for power in his blood?"

Despite her fear, Merida snorted. "Power? Jack's not joining you for the power. He wants to be with his family."

"Mmm, you may think so. But that is because you don't understand. You cannot understand. Look at him." Pitch turned back to Jack and Merida followed his gaze. Jack still stood exactly where he was. His eyes were open, watching them, but there was no expression on his face, not movement to come to Merida's aid. Pitch said to her, "He is a creature above your weak sentimentalities. Any feeling he had left he has willingly given up to embrace his blood."

Merida silently pleaded with Jack to have some sort of emotion, some sort of regret that she was probably about to die. But perhaps her time for being the object of his attention and desires was over. He was looking at her as though she were a stranger.

Before she gave up, she had to ask, "Why him? Why not just leave him in the wizard world with the rest of us humans? You've got your own power, you don't need him." She had almost said, "Like you left Elsa," but stopped, not wanting to draw attention to the poor girl if Pitch didn't know about her.

Pitch put up a finger, stopping her. "Need him? Of course not. I am the gurg of the Frost Giants. But Jack…Jack will be different than the others. He will be capable of using his power in ways the others can't. And, as you can see, I am quite starved of good conversation. Jack's company will curb this tendency I have of talking to humans before I kill them." Pitch reached up a hand, slowly dragging his fingers across Merida's cheek. It was so cold it burned. She screamed. "And with that, girl, I'm finished—"

A single, tall icicle protruded from the ground between Merida and Pitch, forcing Pitch to pull his hand back and lean away quickly. Merida blinked at the ice, her cheek smarting. It was so close she could see the reflection of her fiery red hair reflected in its surface. A second later the snow holding her loosened its grip and she fell to the ground.

She scrambled to her feet as Pitch hissed, "How dare you!"

Merida's head snapped in Jack's direction. He had one hand lifted toward them, which he slowly lowered back to his side. His voice was soft, but stronger than it had been when he had spoken before. "Not her. She's not necessary for you to kill."

Not necessary? Well, those certainly weren't the gallant words of rescue she had been hoping for. But her heart still skipped with joy that Jack had saved her. He wasn't completely gone, not yet. She ran towards him.

Pitch composed himself, and he seemed to grow taller as he straightened. "I see. You want to kill her yourself?"

"No. Leave her," Jack said.

Merida reached Jack and grabbed his arm. "Jack. Let's go."

He didn't look at her, or even move when she tried to pull him. His eyes were still on Pitch, who was facing them fully. Jack said, "Why kill her? She can do no harm. Let her return with the others."

"Hm," Pitch said, and the ghost of a smile on his face made Merida cringe. "No. One thing you will learn, Jack, is to never,  _ever_  take my prey from me. I will forgive you this once. But the girl can't go. Especially now that you've asked for her to live. It seems we haven't finished eradicating your useless human blood yet."

Merida pulled on Jack's arm again, but glancing toward the trees she saw shifting in the shadows. Frost Giants. She bit her tongue, to stifle a swear or a scream, she wasn't sure which. They were surrounded.

"If you won't kill her," Pitch said, raising a hand, "I will."

Three razor sharp icicles, as long as a man, materialized in the air. They grew larger as they flew forward, aimed at her. Merida yelped, holding tighter to Jack, but before they hit Jack flicked his wrist. A wave of snow rose up in front of them. Caught in the snow, only the tips of the icicles were visible, all in positions that would have skewered Merida. The snow collapsed and rained down, but immediately the snow beneath Merida was pulling at her again. She tried to hold onto Jack, who finally turned his emotionless eyes on her as she was yanked back toward Pitch.

"No! Let me go!" She pounded a fist against the snow, wishing she had her wand.

Jack jerked his chin, and wind tore through the clearing, tearing around her in a small whirlwind that lifted the snow away. She covered her face against the painful pellets of ice, but then the wind twisted into the air and spun away, leaving her free.

She was left halfway between Jack and Pitch, and although neither were looking at her, she knew she was still the object of their silent disagreement. Jack was as cool and calm as ever, but Pitch was growing angrier by the second. Gritting his teeth together, Pitch flung an arm toward her. Icicles exploded from the snow in a line toward her, and she ran to dodge. She didn't have to—a similar line of icicles from Jack intercepted Pitch's attack, stopping both in a small collision.

"Enough, boy!" Pitch snapped. "The girl is nothing! You dare choose her over your gurg?"

"Leave her," Jack replied. "She is harmless."

"She has turned you against me, and you think she is harmless? You must kill the human in you. She must die!"

Merida scrambled to get out of the way, only glancing back briefly. Pitch was sending blast after blast of ice and snow and wind at her, and Jack was countering all of them, making sure she was never touched. She could see the Frost Giants surrounding them in the trees now, but she still had no wand to help Jack.

Jack had stepped a few feet to the side, between Pitch and Merida. When he had a second, he looked back at her.

"Leave," he said.

She scoffed. "Has becoming a Frost Giant made you stupider? I'm not going without you, you scaffy idiot!"

Jack faced Pitch again, just as the ground beneath him bulged. It exploded like a geyser, and a wave moved through the snow, throwing Jack and Merida in separate directions. Merida coughed and sputtered, trying to regain her footing in the snow and see if Jack was all right. He had hit a tree—hard, if the splintered wood around him was anything to go by—but he was standing up as Pitch approached him.

Pitch was saying something to him, but Merida had flown to the farthest end of the clearing and couldn't quite hear it.

"Jack!" she called, preparing to get up and run to his aid. To do what, she didn't know, but she wouldn't let Pitch get into his head again. But her hands caught in the snow and sunk down to her elbows. Her whole body jerked as the snow beneath her began to sink, swallowing her up.

With all her might she focused on pulling an arm out. After a lot of grunting and a suction sound, she freed it, but the other sunk deeper. Now her feet were covered, too. She flailed, trying to kick the snow off of her, but only managed to dig herself deeper.

She could hear the sounds of ice shattering, of wind whirling. She wiggled until she could turn around. Pitch was throwing attack after attack at Jack, who was moving quickly, fending him off. Every once in a while, something would get through and hit Jack in the head or knock him aside. Jack wasn't going to last very long.

Then again, neither was Merida. The snow had both her arms again and was now up to her waist. "Jack!" she screamed without thinking about it. There was no way he could hear her over the sounds of fighting going on. She would have to free herself. But no matter how she thrashed and moved, she only sunk deeper. It was getting colder, too. She was numb already, but she was surprised that the snow touching her skin could still be so painfully cold. It made her muscles cramp up until she couldn't move them anymore. Snow snuck into the vulnerable cracks in her clothes, moving up her skirt and shirt until everything was ice. Her warm jacket that Rapunzel had made her did nothing to protect her.

"Jack…Jack…!" she tried to call, but her chest was having a hard time moving. She was able to call his name in an exhale, but then she couldn't inhale again. She wasn't sure which would happen first—would she freeze or would she suffocate? She whipped her head back and forth in panic as the snow crept up her neck and started to cover her head. "No!...No!...Jack…help…"

Could Jack hear her? Did he care? She squeezed her eyes shut, a few tears escaping and falling into the snow that was now covering her mouth. She tried to breathe through her nose, but she was getting hardly any air into her frozen lungs. Her head was getting dizzy.

Dang it, she was so stupid. She had come for a rescue mission and had gotten herself killed. And maybe even Jack. If she died, would Pitch spare him? Maybe. She should have told the aurors as soon as she saw the snow slinkers. She should have done a lot of things different. But here she was.

Was it a consolation that she had at least found Jack? She had seen him one last time before he'd become fully Frost Giant. He had looked at her again with his beautiful face and even tried to save her from Pitch, despite how she'd betrayed him to his best friend, then dumped him and told him to get lost. Perhaps this was all she could have hoped for. Perhaps it was all she deserved.

"No! Merida!"

Her eyes flew open at the sound of Jack's voice. There was more emotion in it now. Where was he? Was he hurt? Was Pitch killing him? Could he even see her under all this snow?

She would have tried to look, but she was almost completely submerged now. One eye was buried, and the other could only look at the dark sky and moon above her. Her vision was blurry from the lack of oxygen, but she used the last of her will power to keep it open.

A figure passed by beside her, close enough that Merida could see it was a tall, purple shadow. The shadow paused next to her, glancing down into her eye. Merida might have been afraid, but she was past feelings now. She hardly had any oxygen left to process that this Frost Giant had a face. A young girl's face. Then everything went dark, whether because the snow had covered her or because she had blacked out, Merida would never know.


	11. Chapter 11

Two hands pulling on her.

A weight falling off.

Coughing until her entire body hurt.

Being carried.

Her muscles aching as they warmed.

The memories were spotty. There were no images attached to them, only vague sensations, all of them including pain and the cold. It was confusing, and she wasn't sure what was real and what wasn't, especially now, as she dipped in and out of consciousness. The memories kept replaying themselves, out of order until she had no idea what had happened at all. Soft voices nearby gave her something to latch onto, consciousness coming to her fully.

She was warm. A heavy blanket lay over her, tucked underneath arms and legs so she couldn't move. Behind her eyelids she could see the orange glow of sunlight. They were heavy, but she blinked her eyes open.

The stone ceilings were high and vaulted, with tall windows letting in the bright sunlight. She wasn't able to move much, so she simply turned her head to the side. There were several beds lined on both sides of the hall. Most of them were empty, but near the door there was someone in a bed and a woman in a red robe was wrapping their leg in white fabric. A little girl was to her left and a few beds down a boy was sitting in a bed, eating soup while his parents talked to a man in another long red robe. There were white curtains set up between all the beds, but they were pulled back against the wall. All but one, which seemed to be drawn so the person in the bed could sleep. The whole place smelt like sweet burning herbs. It certainly wasn't the infirmary at Hogwarts.

 _St. Mungo's_ , Merida thought. She had been here once as a kid when she'd been sick with the higgly bumps and her mother hadn't been able to bring her fever down with homemade potions. Why was she here now?

The Forbidden Forest. Snow. Frost Giants.

_Jack._

Dread settled down on her. Pitch had tried to kill her. Pitch had tried to kill Jack. What had happened? The last thing she remembered was the shadowy face of a girl.

She wiggled free of the tight blanket, trying to sit up. Who was asleep in that bed with the curtain closed? Who was it that was having their leg bandaged? She needed to know immediately.

Her hair was a mess, falling over the thin, cotton hospital shirt that was loosely tucked into matching cotton pants. She pushed her hair away in annoyance. In the aisle in front of her bed was a witch with a red robe, and another with long black hair and a dark green robe. They had been the source of the quiet whispering that had awoken her, and when she moved they turned to her.

Surprised, Merida saw that the dark-haired witch was her mother. "Merida!" Elinor cried, hurrying over to Merida's side and putting a hand on her shoulder to keep her from getting up. Her thick Scottish accent was familiar and thick with emotion. "Are you all right, dear? No need to push yourself too fast, Merida, there's no hurry. You're safe here."

Merida looked up at her mother's face. Elinor's eyebrows were drawn together and the wrinkles that were appearing on her face the last few years seemed deeper with worry and lack of sleep. Before she could stop herself, Merida felt her throat getting tight and her chin quivering. Her voice was cracked from lack of use and de-thawed lungs. "Mum. Jack. My friends. Are they ok?"

Elinor smiled. "Yes, yes! They're all alright. You were the worst off of them, but the doctor said you've healed up nicely."

Merida's heart leapt. They were ok? Everyone was? Even Jack? How? How had he gotten away from Pitch? Why couldn't she remember anything? Merida looked to the witch in red, who nodded with a polite smile before turning and heading out of the room.

"How are you feeling?" Elinor was asking now, her hands running over Merida's hair and shoulders before cupping her face. "Are you all right, love? Does anything hurt?"

Merida couldn't answer. She wanted to ask about Jack and the others, but without meaning to, she was already crying. She usually hated crying in front of her mother, but right now having Elinor there, fussing over her, kissing her head and cheeks, was the most comforting thing in the world. She leaned forward and wrapped her arms around her mother, crying onto her shoulder. Elinor held her tightly, stroking her hair and saying softly, "Shh, my good girl, you're all right. I've got you. You're safe now."

Merida cried until her fear ebbed enough, until her joy at being alive ebbed enough, for her to pull back and sniffle, "Mum, where's Jack? Is he ok? Is he alive? Did he leave?"

"He left this morning, dear," Elinor responded, wiping Merida's tears. "With his Uncle North and the aurors."

 _Thank Merlin! He's alive. And not even a Frost Giant? But what about Pitch?_  Merida's gut twisted, thinking about him being on the run now. She wondered where in the world he would go. When would she see him next? Would she _ever_ see him again? Would he even want to see her?

Elinor continued, "They had to meet Professor McGonagall at the Ministry of Magic to talk to the Minister. Apparently, there's been some disagreements about the Frost Giants and what to do about them, and of course about whether or not Jack should be held responsible, so they had to go down and talk to the council. Your friends were a bit worried, but the headmistress assured them it would turn out all right. She said Jack would probably be back this afternoon. And if Professor McGonagall says it, it's probably true. That woman is a force to be reckoned with."

Merida was nearly speechless. "Back this…afternoon…Jack was here?"

"Of course. He was right here, most of yesterday and this morning," Elinor said, nodding her head to the empty bed on Merida's left. "There was even a crowd of reporters out the door, and the headmistress had to shoo them all away. The Minister stopped by, but North and Professor McGonagall wouldn't even let _her_  talk to him until the doctors released him. This morning he said he was all right enough and he wanted to get it over with sooner rather than later. He's a good boy. I'm afraid I was a bit…cross with him at first. I was so afraid for you, dear, and I knew it was his fault. But when he was apologizing to your father and me so sincerely, I couldn't just watch him cry. He was so worried about you, Merida, and his own life had been at stake, too! Poor boy, I couldn't help but hold him. Don't you look at me like that, Merida. He didn't have a mother to hug him, why shouldn't I?"

Merida shook her head, wiping off the look of disbelief she no doubt was wearing. "No, mum, it's not that…I'm just…surprised. And glad. I'm so, so glad." Tears were coming to her eyes again, and she wiped at them. "I was so worried about that stupid idiot. I was so worried he would be hurt by the Frost Giants. I thought Pitch would…I thought I was never going to see him again."

Elinor's face turned soft. She squeezed Merida's shoulder. "Aye, you were worried about your friend. With the danger of encouraging you to do something so foolish ever again, I'll say I'm proud of you for caring about him so much. Proud of all your friends. He said you saved his life. And from what I hear, he saved yours, too. But don't ever, ever be so thick-headed again, you hear me, young lady? Running into danger like that, honestly! Only you would think of that!" But despite the reprimand, Elinor was half smiling. Merida smiled back.

A second later the far door opened wide. The red-dressed witch from before stepped aside for Merida's father, Fergus, to come through the doorway. He immediately bellowed, "Merida, ya wee lass! You're awake, my love?"

Merida's triplet brothers pushed past her father's knees and ran down the aisle. They jumped straight onto Merida's bed, and she hugged each of them with a laugh before her father leaned over, squeezing her so tight she couldn't breathe. He pulled away, wiping a tear from his eye, and she patted his hand, saying she was fine.

Through the open door came another crowd, led by Rapunzel, who all but tackled Merida. Hiccup and Astrid were right behind her, as well as Hiccup's parents and a blond couple which Merida could only guess were Astrid's parents. Merida hugged and shook hands with everyone before her friends settled around her, Rapunzel next to her and Hiccup and Astrid sitting on the foot of the bed. The parents stood around, listening to their children.

"It was crazy," Hiccup said, as they started the story from the beginning. "We thought you were dead for sure."

The aurors had gotten them out of the Forbidden Forest, but it hadn't been until they were free of the Frost Giants that anyone noticed Merida was nowhere to be found. Her friends had tried to organize a second rescue, but Professor McGonagall had forbidden it. The aurors had gone back to look again, and the teenagers had been forced to wait with the teachers, staring at the forest as the sun was slowly rising.

"Somehow, Jack must have fought off Pitch. He still hasn't explained it," Rapunzel said, looking annoyed but happy. "He said, 'Not until Merida wakes up.' I think he was just too worried to talk about it before then, like he might jinx your recovery."

"When you two came out of the forest, I thought I was seeing things," Astrid said. "Jack looked so frightening, all tall with purple eyes. He was like a strange ghost coming out of the darkness. But he was carrying you, and all he said was 'Help Merida.' Everyone sprung into action then, and within just a couple minutes Hagrid had us all loaded into a carriage and off we went into the sky!"

"Did you  _know_  the thestrals could pull a carriage while flying?" Hiccup said excitedly. " _I_  sure didn't until yesterday!"

They had reached London in record time, landing on the roof of St. Mungo's. The hospital staff had been in a frenzy, rushing the children to the emergency wing as Professor McGonagall shouted at them to hurry it up or deal with her.

"They didn't say so, but the doctors were really worried about you," Rapunzel said quietly, "You were so, so cold, and barely breathing. You were blue. They said your muscles were all but frozen, and it was a miracle you were alive at all. I thought…I was afraid…" Rapunzel trailed off and Merida squeezed her hand. Merida's parents took each other's hands.

"They took you away and wouldn't let us see you. Not even your parents could go in when they got here," Astrid said, also looking solemn.

"Jack was almost as bad," Hiccup added. "He locked himself in an empty hospital room, and everyone could feel the cold air coming from underneath the door. That whole hallway had a layer of frost on everything for most the day, and two aurors guarded it, just in case Jack…wasn't in his right mind. But yesterday afternoon he opened the door. He looked awful, but he was human at least."

The parents chimed in with comments about this or that, what doctors said, how worried they had been. But the entire group ended with the same echoing sentiment, "Everyone is ok now."

Halfway through the story, a nurse had brought Merida a piping hot mug full of mixed magical herbs and a smell that Merida recognized as rageweed. She entertained her little brothers by sipping it and blowing smoke rings, and when the story was over, Hiccup's muggle mother, who looked more like a witch than any of the other women, with her wild braid and bizarre robe, said, "Thank goodness for the witches and wizards here who knew how to help you."

Everyone agreed.

The excited energy in the group calmed. Merida talked to her friends in quiet voices about the Frost Giants, and what they thought Jack was talking to the Minister about. The parents conversed and laughed and complimented one another's children on their brains and bravery, and shook their heads at their poor hearts that had nearly stopped because of it.

Astrid's parents took her away first, but she made everyone promise to write her over the winter break. Rapunzel left next, when her fierce looking adoptive mother came in and said if everyone was alive, then it was time for them to go. Rapunzel whispered to Merida that she had to contact her as soon as she spoke to Jack.

Hiccup sat in the chair beside Merida as she laid back down, tired from the potion and all the excitement. He leaned on his knees and told Merida that he and Jack had talked late last night when everyone else was asleep. They had talked about their friendship and the good old days and how sorry Hiccup was. "I think he and I are good now," Hiccup said with a grin, "and I hope better than ever."

Merida was glad to hear it. "I wish Jack was here," she told Hiccup. "I want to apologize, too."

"He'll be back," Hiccup assured her. "He has to. My family invited him and North for Christmas, since they can't really go home yet. Besides, he'll want to talk to you."

"I hope so." She hadn't forgotten the last argument she'd had with Jack. She hadn't forgotten how he had coldly asked her "Why you," when she had found him in the forest. She rubbed her eyes. It was a struggle to keep them open now.

Hiccup gave her a smile that made her think he knew something she didn't. "He will." Her eyes were already closed when he took the empty mug from her hand and pulled the blanket over her.

* * *

She had slept for so long: two days, almost, and now her body was restless. She woke up several times in the middle of the night, only to be surprised by her surroundings. The hospital wing was dark, with little candles hovering over bedside tables. All she could hear was the gentle coughing of the little boy a few beds away, and the distant moan of the man with the broken leg on the other side of the room. Once she remembered where she was, she would roll over and try to sleep.

It was never long before she found herself awake again. Usually staring at the bed to the left of hers. The bed that Jack had slept in last night, according to her mother. He hadn't come back that afternoon, which Merida had been informed of when Elinor had woken her up for a bit of dinner. Last they'd heard, he was still at the Ministry. That had worried Merida, but she hadn't said so. She was afraid that Jack might be in a lot of trouble. Her friends and parents had sort of mentioned it, but Merida knew that she had been very close to dying and she hoped the Minister wouldn't blame Jack for her near-death experience.

What if she had been under the ice for just a few minutes longer? What if Jack hadn't been able to shake off Pitch? They'd both be dead. No one would have found her until the snow melted in the spring. But somehow Jack had shaken him, and they were both alive because of it.

Merida would tell the Minister that. She'd go downtown first thing tomorrow, whether the doctors liked it or not, and tell the Minister and council and reporters that Jack had saved her life. That he wasn't a monster. He didn't need to be locked up in Azkaban or even kicked out of school. She had also put the lives of her friends in danger, so if he went, so would she.

Even if he didn't want to be with her anymore, she would go anyway. Stupid Jack, what had he done to her? He had made her crazy.

She wanted to see him. Crivens, she wanted to just be in the same room as him, just look at his face to confirm for herself that he was the same old Jack that he had been. That he wasn't the emotionless, statuesque creature she had found in the forest two nights ago.

She shivered, wrapping her blanket tighter around her. She regretted thinking about that night right now. In the dim light, with the flickering candles, the shadows looked long and dark. It wasn't hard to picture the looming figures of the Frost Giants in the shadows. It wasn't hard to picture Pitch at the foot of her bed, his bloodthirsty eyes watching her and waiting for her to fall asleep again. Where was Pitch now? Still in the Forbidden Forest? Had he finally given up on Jack or was he still biding his time?

Her breath caught and her heart skipped when she heard the door creak and quiet footsteps clack against the stone floor. She exhaled again, reminding herself it was the nurse coming to check on everyone, and not a monster. She closed her eyes, pretending to sleep.

Clothes rustled behind her, and the chair scraped quietly against the stone as it was moved. She was facing the other direction, but she could feel the person lean over her before pulling her blanket up a little. She breathed evenly, waiting to hear the footsteps of the nurse moving away from her.

After a second she heard a quiet whisper, " _Iteus proculum._ "

Her eyes snapped open. She knew that spell. She'd heard it a dozen times in the last few months—it kept people from noticing the spellcaster if he didn't want them to. More importantly, she knew that voice.

She whipped around, wide eyes landing on Jack. He was sitting in the chair next to her bed, the candle light making his white hair look yellow. He was in a long sleeve shirt with the sleeves pushed up, and jeans. His jacket was thrown over the back of the chair and he had just set his wand on the bedside table. He was picking up a book that Merida's mother had left there, but he had completely frozen when Merida had turned to look at him. She saw that his wide eyes were a bright blue again.

"Uh, hey," he said quietly. He didn't whisper, but it didn't matter. His spell would keep his voice and presence from bothering the other patients. "Sorry, did I wake you up?" Merida sat up, and he reached out to keep her from moving any further. "No, it's ok, you don't have to—"

She slapped him across the face.

He blinked twice before turning his face back to her, his cheek turning pink. She stared at him, just as shocked as he was.

He pulled his hand back from her and fisted it, pressing it hard against his knee. "Ok," he said. "I probably deserved that."

He looked so serious. He looked remorseful. He looked human. He looked beautiful.

Merida leaned forward, wrapping her fingers around the front of his shirt tightly and pulling him closer. He flinched, fully expecting another attack, but instead of a fist, Merida's lips landed on his face. She kissed his forehead and cheeks and chin and anything she could reach. She didn't even notice she was crying until she said, "Bloody idiot." It came out choked and watery. "Stupid." Kiss. "Beautiful." Kiss. "Don't leave me." Kiss. "Please."

Jack had been tense at the beginning of her onslaught, but at her last, emotional " _Please_ " he reached his arms around her and turned his head to catch her wandering lips. Her heart jumped when he kissed her back. It seemed like it had been forever since they'd kissed at all. His arms felt so good around her, and his lips were so sweet she almost cried harder. But she didn't, not when his warm, alive skin made her feel so happy she wanted to sing.

Merida was practically falling off her bed now, slipping into Jack's lap. She couldn't get close enough to him in this position. She was just about to yank the blankets away to sit on his knee when he abruptly stood up, moving her back so there was room for him to put his knee on the bed. A second later her head was on the pillow, her hair a wild mess around her, and Jack was leaning over her, his lips still on hers. She heard two  _thunks_  as his shoes hit the floor, and then he was holding onto her so tight that she almost couldn't breathe.

She was so caught up in his kisses that it was a few minutes before she realized just how desperately he was holding on to her. His hand was at her waist, gripping the fabric of her shirt tightly, his knuckles pressing into her side until it almost hurt. His other arm was around her, holding her close, keeping her from moving away. He kissed her like she might vanish if he stopped. It reminded her of the desperate, clinging way he had held her all those months ago—the first day he'd kissed her. Like she was his lifeline to the world. Like he needed her in order for him to breathe.

She held him tightly, her hands in his hair, kissing him purposefully. _I'm here. It's ok. You're not alone._

After a while she could feel both of their desperation calming down. Their kisses became soft and tender, happy just to be next to each other.

It was then that Merida's ability to string coherent thoughts together came back.

"Jack," she whispered, ending the kiss and pushing him away slightly. Her lips were numb and her head felt dizzy, but she opened her eyes.

"Mm?" was Jack's response. He had pulled back enough to look at her through heavy lidded eyes. His hair was in chaos, and he was breathing deeply. He said, "If you've got something to say, say it now, because I'm going to kiss you again."

"I'm sorry, Jack," she said. The way his eyebrows drew together the tiniest amount she knew she had said something he wasn't expecting. She hoped that was good—even she felt like something had mended, something was whole again because of these kisses. Like they had reminded them of a time before pain. But she still needed to say all of this out loud, "I'm sorry about what I said in the infirmary. I was being selfish. I didn't understand anything you were going through."

Jack opened his mouth, but she quickly put her fingers to his lips.

"No, please," she said, "Let me say it." His ice blue eyes searched hers for a second before he nodded. She slid her hand to his cheek and he kissed her wrist. She went on, "I'm sorry I didn't understand what you were going through. I'm sorry I said I wanted to break up with you. I'm sorry for losing my temper and calling your family monsters. I was only thinking about myself and I was  _stupid_. If you wanted to go with them, I should have heard you out and supported you. If I ruined your chances of being with them by running after you and making Pitch angry, I'm sorry." She was blinking back tears again. "Merlin's beard, I'm so stupid. I'm sorry."

"You're not," Jack said.

"I am. I almost got Hiccup and Rapunzel and Astrid killed. And me and you killed! If I hadn't shown up, Pitch wouldn't have tried to hurt you."

" _Stop_."

"No, let me finish!"

He snapped his mouth shut again, exhaling angrily. His breath was hot on her skin. It was so different from his icy breath from before. It made her skin tingle.

"I just…I want you to be safe. I want you to be happy. And if going with your family is what you want, then I won't get in your way again, but I also…I can't help it, it's  _your_  fault…I want you to be with  _me_." She was crying. Again. Crivens, was she ever going to stop crying? Would she just be a huge cry baby for the rest of her life? "I don't want you to go. Please don't. I'm sorry I'm so gammy stupid. I'll make it up to you. You don't want a loony girlfriend who cries all the time now for no reason, but if you decide to stay then stay with me, please."

He was quickly kissing every tear as it fell and saying, "I'm staying. Don't cry. I'm staying." He pulled back, smiling and licking the salt from his lips, but his eyes were also watery.

She sniffed. "You're staying? Why?"

He chuckled, just once, and it was thick with emotion. "Because, yoo eedeeut wee lassy, ah've got this gyerl who won le' me goh." He trailed his fingers along her hairline, smiling so sweetly it made Merida's chest ache. "You have no idea how happy I was to see you in that clearing. I was also terrified, and furious with you, but really, really happy."

Merida felt herself smiling a little, every bit of her swelling with joy at his touch and his smile and his words. "You were happy? You didn't look happy."

"Ah, well, that's part of being a Frost Giant. Your emotions sort of get buried, but they're still there, which I was surprised and disappointed to find out. My emotions have been so screwed up the last few weeks, I thought it would be nice not to have any feelings left. Especially after we got in that big fight about Hiccup and then you dumped me." She inhaled sharply, and he hurriedly said, "It wasn't your fault, it was me. I was stretched so thin that I didn't think rationally when all of that happened. I really had been considering staying instead of going with my family. You made it so hard for me to want to leave. But Pitch being so close screwed me up, and when you said it was over I just thought, 'Well, this is the end.' I figured everyone would be better off without me. You'd be better off."

"I'm sorr—"

It was his turn to silence her with his fingers on her lips. "I know, I was wrong. But like I said, I wasn't in my right mind. And I was afraid I'd almost just killed Ruffnut and Tuffnut. Everything was bad. I just thought it'd be better if I left and stopped  _thinking_  and  _feeling_  so much. When I started...turning, I guess, all of my raging emotions disappeared. But everything came back when Pitch hurt you." He cut off abruptly, suddenly clutching her hair tightly, his jaw clenched. Then he let go with a sigh and fell onto the pillow next to her. She turned to face him and he wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her as close as he could while still having enough room to talk. The candlelight was behind Jack now, casting shadows on his face and framing his head like a halo. Merida gently ran her fingers through his hair and he seemed to breath easier.

But when he continued his eyes were sharp. "That was Pitch's big mistake—going after you. I would have gone with him quietly if he'd agreed to let you go, but he wouldn't. I knew he was a monster, but I didn't think…I don't know what I thought. I was obviously wrong. But it almost cost you your life." He looked desperate again, and Merida ran her thumb along his eyebrow and down his cheek.

"I'm ok. We're both ok. You got us out," she said.

"Not me. Flenna did."

"Flenna?" The shadowy, purple face of the young girl popped into Merida's head. "I  _thought_  that might be her. What happened? Is she ok? Is it alright that you left her with Pitch?"

"Pitch is dead."

Merida's jaw dropped. "What? Dead? You killed him?"

"Not me, really. I helped, but it was mostly Flenna."

" _Flenna?_  Your wee baby sister? She killed that evil monster? How?"

Jack shrugged, looking bewildered. "She was…really strong. Almost as strong as Pitch. I was barely able to hold him off, but she's been a Frost Giant for a long time now and could do everything perfectly. It was amazing to see her use magic like that. When we had finally stopped Pitch, I would have just left him, but she…well,  _dealt_  with him. She said she had to, in order to be the new gurg."

"What?  _She's_  the new chief?"

"Yep," Jack said proudly. "And she'll be a lot better than Pitch ever was. See, I think that the Frost Giants could have overthrown Pitch ages ago, but they didn't care to. They had no reason. But Flenna, she…she was worried about me. Just like I came alive again when you were in trouble, she felt like she couldn't just watch me die, either. She saved me. She saved us both. She dug you out of the snow and carried you most of the way through the forest. She told me she wouldn't stop me from joining the Frost Giants if I wanted, but that I shouldn't. She said I still had a wizard's life and I should hold onto it. It would be better for me." He turned toward the ceiling, swallowing hard. "Merida, I almost couldn't do it then. How could I leave my little sister like that? But she said she was ok. You know, in that weird, emotionless Frost Giant way. But I believed her. And she handed you to me and then all I could think about was getting you safe." He turned back to her. "I left my little sister there. I couldn't do anything for her."

He was looking for comfort. She wasn't sure what to give him, other than, "She'll be ok. She's strong. She loves you a lot."

"Yeah. She is strong. And underneath her Frost Giant blood, she's still a bit human. She'll be kind. That's what I told the Minister."

"You did? And?"

"And it was a long fight between some of the council members and Professor McGonagall and my uncle. Then Elsa and her family showed up."

"Elsa did?"

"Yeah. I told her she didn't have to, but she and her mother told the entire council about their own heritage, which really shook things up, because a lot of people know the Arendells. But eventually…the Minister said it was ok. She said as long as the Frost Giants left without hurting anyone, then the ministry wouldn't take action against them. She said I can go back to school, too. She's really kind, you know, the Minister. Did you know she's married to one of the aurors who saved Hiccup and them? Captain Weasley? I'm really bad about paying attention to politics."

Merida shook her head in awe. "I can't believe it all turned out so perfect."

" _Perfect?_  You almost  _died!"_

"Pfft, please. I'm fine. And you're fine, and everyone's fine, and your family will be happier now, and Flenna's a chief, and Elsa's fine, and Pitch won't ever bother you again…I can't believe it all turned out so bloody perfect. What's so funny?"

He had turned his head into the pillow to muffle his laughter. " _You're_  funny," he said after a second. "You're crazy, but I love you."

Her heart jumped into her throat, and she was so excited to say it he probably didn't even understand her, "Iloveyoutoo."

To her complete bewilderment, he burst out laughing again. He was trying to hold it in, but he was laughing so hard he was nearly crying. It was such a wonderful sound to hear. It made her want to laugh, too, except that she was irritated. "Why are you laughing at me?" Her face was warm.

"I'm not, I'm sorry." He calmed down, wiping an eye. "You're just so cute. And I just want to laugh and cry all the time since I can't feel Pitch pulling at me anymore. It's like I can breathe again. It's such a relief."

Merlin's beard, he was so beautiful. How could he love her so much? She felt like her chest might explode just looking at him. "I love you," she said again, this time with all the feeling that she felt.

He smirked at her. "I know."

She rolled her eyes. "Oh, you know, huh?"

"Yep. I had a feeling when you ambushed the Forbidden Forest and threatened to fight off an ancient Frost Giant for me that you might like me a little more than you let on."

She paused, then smacked his shoulder. "Oi, don't give me this crap! It's not easy to say that, and you're stealing all my thunder, you jerk! I might as well not even say it!"

He caught her hand, chuckling again. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I was just excited. You say it."

"No, forget it. I already said it and you didn't care."

"Didn't care? I cared! Say it again."

She rolled over, not able to face his stupid grin with her red-hot cheeks, especially when she was fighting back a smile. "No chance."

"Merida, come on." He wrapped an arm around her from behind, pulling her back against his chest. His voice and breath were right in her ear. "I'm sorry. Say it again," He slowly kissed her hair and her ear and by the time he reached her neck she felt her heart beating quickly again. With a huff she flipped over, propping herself up and leaning over him with a glare.

Unsurprised, he continued smiling up at her. He pulled all her hair to one side so it was out of the way, before trailing his fingers down her neck and along the collar of her thin shirt. "Say it," he said.

She knew her glare was losing power. She couldn't hold it, not with him looking at her like that. His eyes almost hurt to look into, but she couldn't look away. She didn't want to. His fingers moved along her jaw and outlined her lips, and without meaning to she whispered, "I love you."

"Only me?" he asked.

"Only you."

He was holding her face now, pulling her down to him. She kissed him once, and before she could help it, she said, "I love you." She just liked saying it. It felt so good on her tongue. She had a feeling she wouldn't ever get bored of saying it. And it seemed to have a fun effect on Jack, too—he was kissing her so tenderly she thought she might melt in his arms. She managed to get out one more, "I love you," before he was kissing her too much for her to say anything else.

* * *

They fell asleep nose to nose. Being held by Jack was so warm now that Merida hadn't even needed her blanket. She could get used to that.

Elinor found them sleeping in the morning, with a scandalized hand to her chest, before a smile spread across her lips. She had to compose herself again before clearing her throat and waking the two up. It was Christmas Eve. It was time for them to go.

* * *

Hogwarts looked like a completely different castle with the storm gone and the sun shining once again. Sunlight reflected off the snow and shone through windows, illuminating the happier students, staff, and ghosts that roamed the halls on the first day of classes in January. Merida was one of them, with a spring in her step that she couldn't control, even after Rapunzel had made fun of her.

Merida passed Hagrid in the hall on the way to Defense Against the Dark Arts, and they greeted each other loudly. With the blizzard ended, Hagrid had been able to move back into his small house on the grounds, and he was much happier because of it. He clapped Merida on the shoulder, saying more than once that it was "Good to see yer doin' so well" before he had to excuse himself to meet Hiccup for a Care of Magical Creatures class.

As she walked the halls, Merida was aware of more than one whisper that carried her name. Her photo had been in the paper almost every day since the end of last term, almost always beside a picture of Jack. One of the most used photos was of the two of them, holding hands as they left the hospital, both of them smiling cheekily and bowing as though they were royalty. This particular photo caused the most whispers among the older students at the school, who were quickly coming to realize that Jack Frost and Elsa Arendell were no longer a thing.

To Merida's relief, there were only a few morons who seemed to be offended by Jack's parentage. The rest of the students clapped hands on his shoulders and wore pins that flashed and said, "Kiss a Giant", which made Hagrid flustered.

Despite being embarrassed by all the gossip about her love life, Merida was also somewhat happy about it. She held her head high as she reached class, strutting past Professor Tallen, who gave her a raised eyebrow as she sat beside Elsa. Professor's Tallen's stern face may have intimidated her before, but after seeing the pure relief he'd had at his students' safety, Merida suspected he was softer than he looked. The other sixth year Griffindor and Slytherin students were looking at the two girls' backs, maybe confused, maybe jealous, but Elsa was used to the treatment and Merida didn't care.

"Where's Jack?" Merida asked quietly when Professor Tallen started talking. She had only seen him for a second at breakfast, before he and Elsa had been whisked away for some sort of Prefect meeting or orientation or something.

"I thought he was with you," Elsa whispered back. "I haven't seen him since this morning."

The girls shrugged and settled down beside each other. It was only thirty seconds later that the door opened and Jack popped his head in, interrupting Professor Tallen. Merida felt like an idiot that her heart skipped when she saw him. She tried to keep a straight face so no one would notice.

"Sorry, sir," Jack said. "Can I borrow Merida Dunbroch for a minute? Official Prefect business."

Professor Tallen was, of course, head of Slytherin House, and therefore in charge of Jack's "Prefect business". He narrowed his eyes but Jack just grinned back. Merida thought Professor Tallen would call Jack on his bluff for sure, but after a moment, the man grunted, nodding his head at Merida. "Not long, you two. This class will apply to you, since you insist on fighting Frost Giants."

The class laughed as Merida quickly got to her feet. Jack held the door for her, and as soon as they were both out, he took her hand with a wide smile, pulling her down the hall after him. Merida kept up with his quick pace, both of them gaining speed from the excitement of just being next to each other.

Merida hadn't seen him in a week and a half, since Christmas day. They'd sent letters, nearly every day, since the distance from her house to Hiccup's was much shorter than the distance to Jack's home in Siberia. Jack and North had stayed with Hiccup's family all break, but when Jack headed back to school, North headed home to dig out their large log cabin. Merida had met Hiccup and Jack at the King's Cross station yesterday, and had to resist the urge to shove over a couple first years in order to run and hug Jack. It hadn't even occurred to her until Rapunzel mentioned it later, that she'd used to treat Hiccup that way. It had only made Merida smile.

"What's this, then?" Merida asked as they headed down a corridor on the northeast side of the castle, passing high windows that looked over the snow-covered grounds. "Couldn't stand not seeing me for a whole three hours?"

Jack gave her a pout. "I couldn't  _bear_  it."

"And coming to class with me and Elsa like a normal person was out of the question, right?"

"Oh, completely."

"Well, good. I think Professor Tallen would have made me be the example all class, and I would have just looked like a git up there."

Jack laughed. "Don't worry, we'll be back in time for you to still do that."

"We're not just ditching? Where are we going, then?"

"You'll see."

He led her down the halls until they reached a back door that opened up near the quidditch pitch. He swung the door open while simultaneously muttering a spell and flicking his wand over the both of them. Merida felt her clothes warming up.

Merida eyed the quidditch pitch longingly as they passed, remembering the good news that Professor Longbottom had given her at breakfast, "I hope you're well enough to fly, Ms. Dunbroch. We can't have our House losing to Hufflepuff next week." She and Astrid had nearly lost it, they were so excited. Lucky for Merida, her parents had taken pity on her after her near-death experience, and had agreed that she could play quidditch if she did her best to get her grades up by the end of the year. She would have related Professor Longbottom's news about the quidditch match to Jack, if it didn't seem like he was heading somewhere important. She would tell him later. There would be lots of time for them to talk later, and she had no doubt Jack would be in the front row at all of her games, just as he'd always been.

They left the school behind, and it wasn't hard for Merida to see that they were headed to the Forbidden Forest. Surely, they weren't going in there? She felt a chill on her skin, remembering the horrifying night she had spent running through the trees. She clenched her jaw against her fear. She trusted Jack. Wherever they were going, it would be fine.

They stopped twenty yards from the tree line and she noticed a movement among the branches. Merida's breath hitched when two tall, shadowy figures came free of the tree's shadows. They stepped across the snow toward them, and Jack said to her when she clutched his hand, "It's ok. It's Flenna and my dad."

Immediately, Merida felt silly. She tried not to show her embarrassment as the looming creatures neared them. Flenna was shorter than her father, but she was still over six feet tall. Jack's father—did he even have a name?—must have been about ten feet tall. They were shadowy and purple, but if Merida squinted at Flenna she could almost make out the features of a girl's face.

Flenna extended a long arm and Jack let go of Merida to step forward and gently touch his finger tips to hers. The gesture was so childlike on Flenna's part, Merida's heart hurt. This little girl, holding her big brother's hand, was the new chief of the Frost Giants.

The father was speaking to Jack, but it wasn't in a way Merida could understand. Jack responded normally, "Yes. They promised they would so long as you go home. No. Yes. Can I come visit? Ah. Yes."

Flenna had turned to look at Merida. Merida waved, but then wasn't sure what to do, so she just shifted uncomfortably as Flenna continued to stare at her shamelessly. Finally, Flenna turned to Jack. Jack chuckled, glanced back at Merida, then said to Flenna, "She's all right. And yes."

Merida blushed, suddenly realizing that these weren't just magical creatures, this was Jack's father and sister. She was being introduced to them. Merlin's beard. What did Frost Giants think about humans? Did they like her? When was the last time she'd brushed her hair?

Merida shook her head as Jack stepped back to her side.

"Yeah," he was saying. "Ok. Bye."

Surprised at how short the encounter had been, Merida watched Flenna and Jack's father turn back toward the trees. Jack's hand found hers again, and when she felt how tightly he gripped her she glanced up at his face. He was calm, but his eyes were fixed on his family. Ah. Merida understood. This wasn't an introduction—Jack needed support as he said goodbye to his family.

Merida held him around the waist, and he put an arm around her shoulder. They waited quietly until Flenna and his father were gone.

"Will you see them again?" Merida asked quietly.

"I think so," he replied, looking at the trees.

She was watching his face. "Are you ok?" She was afraid to ask him if he regretted his decision to stay.

He finally turned to her, hugging her tight and pressing his cheek to the top of her head. He sighed, and she was relieved to feel that his breath was warm. "Yeah. I'm ok."

They stood quietly for a few minutes. Merida closed her eyes, feeling like every part of her was lighter all of a sudden. If he let go, she might have just floated away. She wished she could just go on hugging him forever, the brisk winter air around them, her clothes warm from Jack's spell and presence.

This was ridiculous. How had she gotten to this point in her life? So many things had changed since the beginning of the school year. She was in love with  _Jack Frost_ of all people. Clever Jack, annoying Jack, handsome Jack…kind and friendly and fun Jack. Her younger self would be completely appalled. Sweet and smart Hiccup was so far behind her she almost forgot that he'd been there at all. All she could see ahead of her was Jack.

When Jack pulled back she wanted to kiss him. She'd been wanting to kiss him since she had last been alone with him, which had been the hospital, and that was nearly two weeks ago. He gave her a smile before taking her hand and turning back. The glittering windows of Hogwarts were ahead of them. When they reached the door, she would have been disappointed that they hadn't gotten any kisses in before class, but his sidelong glances and sly smiles led her to believe she'd get what she wanted soon enough.

In the hallways again, there were a few first and second years walking between classes. The first and second years always got out of class early on the first day of the semester so they could navigate the labyrinthine hallways and find their classes without being run over by the older students.

Merida and Jack wove between the younger students, smiling down at them when the first years gasped in recognition. There were barely concealed whispers of students explaining to their friends about the Frost Giants in the paper, and a few exclamations about Prefects. One girl actually sighed aloud at Jack and Merida's clasped hands, and another admitted that they didn't know Slytherins could date Gryffindors. Jack and Merida laughed, both a little more giddily than they should have.

They turned a corner, and ahead of them Merida noticed a girl with bushy auburn hair, huffily walking away from two boys. Merida recognized her as Rosie, the second year from her own house. Merida let Jack lead her away from the other students and toward the two boys Rosie had left behind. Both boys were from Slytherin house, one with messy black hair and glasses, the other with a mop of white-blond hair. The boys were whispering to each other, looking after Rosie. They jumped when Jack greeted them loudly, "Hail, Slytherin!"

"We weren't doing anything," the boy with glasses quickly said.

"It wasn't our fault," the blond boy said at the same time.

Jack chuckled and Merida couldn't help but let out a laugh. Had she, Jack, Hiccup, and Rapunzel been so obvious when they'd been caught? No wonder it was so easy for Filch to catch them all the time.

"Terrifying Prefect, you are," Merida said, "Striking fear into your fellow Slytherins."

"I told you, I'm an amazing Prefect." Jack sniffed.

But both boys had already relaxed.

"Jack," said the boy with glasses, "quit sneaking up on us."

"You're the worst," said the blond boy.

"I'm the worst, huh?" Jack leaned down to their height. That close, he almost looked like he could be the older brother of the blond Slytherin boy. "Well, then, who's going to give you advice on how to win over that cute Gryffindor girl you fancy?"

The boy with glasses looked at his friend with wide eyes, who had immediately flushed red. "I don't  _fancy_  her."

Jack was grinning. "Right, sure you don't. And I'm Albus Dumbledore, nice to meet you."

"Shut up, it isn't your business," said the blond boy, glaring at him.

"I'll have you know it is my business. Because you see this girl here," Jack said, holding up his and Merida's clasped hands.

Both boys looked at her, and Merida waved at them. "Um, hello."

"She was an impossible redheaded Gryffindor lass once, just like your girl," Jack finished.

"Hey!" Merida pushed him with her shoulder. "You were far more ridiculous than me, you scaffy loon."

Jack lifted her hand and kissed the back of it, his eyes on her the whole time. "And through some miracle, I won her over." She blushed, fully aware the two young boys were staring at her. Oh, Merlin's beard, is this what he was going to be like now that they weren't hiding their relationship anymore? It might kill her.

She had to look away quickly, clearing her throat. She heard Jack say, "See?" and she turned back to glare at him. She pulled him away from the boys to continue down the hall. Before stepping away Jack ruffled the blond boy's hair until it was as messy as the other boy's.

"Don't give up, mate," Jack said, "Trust me, it's worth it."

Merida glanced back at the two boys, who were quietly watching them leave, their eyes on her. Merida turned back to Jack, only to find his eyes also on her.

"Won me over, huh?" she said dryly, trying to quell the heat rising on her skin at his heavy gaze. "Like you ever won anything without cheating."

He smirked. "I had to cheat, otherwise I wouldn't have gotten anywhere."

"Please, you had it easy.  _I_  had to win over some idiot whose relatives tried to kill us."

"Aye ya wee lass, but you had me way before then. Although, you fighting Frost Giants for me had me falling for you all over again." Jack stopped walking once they were far enough away from the younger students. He lifted a hand to tuck a red curl behind her ear, his fingers lingering on her cheek. "Merida, thank you. For everything."

She wanted to laugh and hit him and cry and say, "No, thank  _you_  for loving me, for some reason I'm still trying to figure out, you perfect idiot. I'd do it all again if I had to. I'd fight off a hundred Frost Giants or whatever other magical creatures try to take you. You're the one who's worth it." But she couldn't quite get it out. Her throat was too full of her beating heart.

She couldn't wait anymore. She grabbed his robes and shoved him back, eliciting a, "Whoa, what did I say?" from him before she shoved him into a small alcove behind a wall tapestry. Her eyes hadn't even adjusted to the dim light before his lips were on hers, his warm breath still laughing. He held her just as tightly as she'd been craving all morning. Crivens, he was delicious. She doubted they'd ever make it back in time for Defense Against the Dark Arts.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Voila, le fin. Leave a comment if you'd like.


End file.
